Professor of Law Keith Bybee directs the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media (IJPM), a collaborative effort between the College of Law, the Maxwell School, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His areas of focus are the confluence of constitutional law, partisanship, and political compromise and fit with his civics and civility expertise. We asked him about the Supreme Court, which is hearing testimony on gerrymandering and tackling the important question, when does this political tactic become unconstitutional?
“During his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Chief Justice John Roberts famously declared that judges are like umpires whose job is to ensure fair play,” says Bybee. “The extreme political gerrymandering proliferating throughout the United States gives Roberts and the Supreme Court a chance to live up to his words. To give the majority party a completely free hand in drawing electoral districts is the same as giving one team complete control of the scoreboard. Fans will stop going to games if the Yankees always ‘win’ no matter how many homers their opponents hit. And people will stop turning out to polls if the party in power retains its majority no matter how few cast votes for it.â€
ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ faculty are available to speak to media via phone, email, Skype, or LTN studio. Please contact Scott McDowell, executive director, regional strategic communications at semcdowe@syr.edu or 212-826-1449 or Ellen James Mbuqe, director of news and PR at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 315.443.1897.
With a new $1 million gift from The Reynolds Foundation, researchers at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs hope to create a new global map, one that provides a clear pathway to strengthening democracy and freedom throughout the…
For Associate Professor Anthony Adornato, a recent Fulbright experience brought him back to his journalism roots. The former television anchor and reporter returned from a three-week Fulbright Specialist experience in Kosovo, where he trained journalists at the country’s public service…
The ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL) and the University of Bergen Faculty of Law recently hosted a group of national security scholars from 16 universities and 12 states at the first Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach…
When Erika Mahoney ’12 graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, she had no idea that her journalism training would one day help her navigate the most devastating chapter of her own life. Today, the former National Public…
A runner for most of her life, Marla Runyan L’25 crossed yet another finish line when she walked the stage in May to accept her diploma from the College of Law. While this was quite an achievement, she is no…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
