About the Department

Ryan Owens studies judicial politics and American political institutions. His work analyzes, among other things, agenda setting on the United States Supreme Court, strategic behavior on the United States Courts of Appeals, and unilateral executive behavior. Dr. Owens's work has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Judicature, and Justice System Journal.

Owens received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Harvard Provost, the Center for Empirical Research in the Law, the George H.W. Bush Library Foundation, and the Southern Political Science Association.

Dr. Owens received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 2001 and his Ph.D. from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2008. From 2001 to 2003, he practiced telecommunications law in Madison, Wisconsin.

Papers:

Solicitor General Seduction:  Influencing Supreme Court Justices to Overcome Their Preferences

Analyzing the Reliability of Supreme Court Justices' Agenda Setting Records

The Separation of Powers and Supreme Court Agenda Setting

Setting a Crash Course with Congress and the President: Supreme Court Agenda Setting in a System of Shared Powers

Agenda-Setting in the Supreme Court: The Collision of Policy and Jurisprudence

Join-3 Votes and Supreme Court Agenda Setting

Adding Recess Appointments to the President's `Tool Chest' of Unilateral Powers

Working Papers:

Calling for the Views of the Solicitor General: A Strategic Analysis

A 'Reasonable Management Tool' or A 'Punch in the face'?  The Bush Administration and the Recess Appointment Clause

Unconnected Coalitions and the United States Supreme Court

Senatorial Blue Slips and Lower Court Nominations