Joanna Shepherd-Bailey

Emory University will host the 2024 Conference on Empirical Legal Studies.

A recent Bloomberg story on what progressive Democrats hope for in upcoming federal judicial appointments cited Professor Joanna Shepherd's study on how judges' backgrounds can make a difference in outcomes. Her research found Judges with experience as federal prosecutors or corporate lawyers are less likely to rule in favor of workers in employment disputes.

Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd's recently released study "Jobs, Judges, and Justice" found judges who were previously prosecutors or corporate lawyers "are significantly more likely than other types of lawyers to rule against workers as judges." She spoke with NPR about the impact of diversity on the bench.

Joanna M. Shepherd has been named Thomas Simmons Professor of Law, in recognition of exceptional scholarship and her substantial contributions to the study of legal institutions.

Some state judges now see millions of dollars poured into their campaigns following the change in political contributions allowed by the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling. What gets less attention is how attack ads, often funded by those dollars, influence not only the race, but also sentencing. Judges affected by Citizens United were 7% more likely to hand out harsher sentences after the court decision, Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd says on NPR's "Embedded."

"Courts, it is often remarked, control neither armies nor treasuries. Their power comes from their legitimacy," says The Atlantic. Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd is quoted in a story about the Republican legislature in West Virginia impeaching state supreme court justices. Post Citizens United, new judicial dark money overwhelmingly came from conservative groups, which resulted in a surge of TV attack ads on judges. They are often missing "any sort of nuance or explanation for why a judge voted that way . . . They fail to mention that there was an illegal search and seizure or something like that," Shepherd said, adding, "The system is forcing judges to act a lot more like politicians than as true judges."

Donald Trump recently vowed to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. But for that to be effective, the government "must have the ability to not only negotiate prices, but also to put some pressure on drug makers to secure price concessions," Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd writes for Morning Consult. "Policy-makers must fully understand what it means for government to negotiate directly with drug makers, and what the potential consequences are for price reductions, access to popular drugs, drug innovation, and drug prices for other consumers."

On Nov. 9, pharmaceutical stocks soared as Donald Trump's election victory eased concerns about government intervention in drug pricing, Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd writes for Morning Consult. Pharmaceutical stocks had generally underperformed this year as the market, like much of America, awaited a Clinton victory. Trump had less to say on drug pricing, hence the market's favorable response to his unexpected victory. "Yet, as the end of the first post-election month draws near, we are still uncertain whether Trump is friend or foe to the pharmaceutical industry," she writes.

Fineman, other Emory Law faculty recognized for scholarly impact

"So-called no-injury class actions, in which class members can't show a clear-cut harm, primarily line the pockets of plaintiffs lawyers," Corporate Counsel says, citing Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd's recent empirical study. "As you'd expect, plaintiffs lawyers and defense lawyers have very different reactions to the study's findings," the story continues. "Although 60 percent of the total award may be available to class members, in reality they typically receive less than 9 percent of the total," Shepherd says.

Diversity jurisdiction protects out-of-state residents from potentially biased state courts, Shepherd writes for the National Law Review. "It is meant to ensure that commercial cases would be heard in an impartial forum to protect foreign litigants from local bias." Adhering the to "minimal diversity" standard called for by Article III of the Constitution would increase federal district courts' caseloads by an estimated 7.7 percent. "An additional 43 cases per year is a small price to pay for equal justice," she writes.

As the only state to host a Supreme Court race coming up--an unprecedented contest for three of the seven seats--Pennsylvania now gets the spotlight. Once the summer lull ends, experts say, tens of millions of dollars are likely to flow into the state and onto its airwaves to promote, or attack, the candidates. Court advocates say that money damages the public trust in justice, but studies suggest that it goes beyond perception, said Professor Joanna Shepherd. In a look at contributions and voting records nationwide from 2010 to 2012, she found that the more money business interests spent on a judge's campaign, the more likely the judge's vote would favor a business litigant.

In a decision viewed as a limited victory for campaign finance reform, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited Emory Law Professors Joanna Shepherd and Michael Kang's 2014 study "Skewed Justice," in joining a 5-4 majority decision that found in states where judges are elected, their role in soliciting financial contributions should be limited. (See page 31.)

Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd said West Virginia's move fits a gradual pattern as states shift away from partisan elections, even as campaign spending rises and races become more politicized each year. She believes the West Virginia measure would have limited effects on influence. "It would minimize the influence of political parties in these elections, but it will not do anything to remedy the special interest money," she said.

The New York Times featured Professors Joanna Shepherd and Michael Kang's just-released study, "Skewed Justice." The study had two major findings: (1) The more TV ads aired during state supreme court judicial elections in a state, the less likely justices are to vote in favor of criminal defendants, and (2), justices in states whose bans on corporate and union spending on elections were struck down by Citizens United were less likely to vote in favor of criminal defendants than they were before the decision.

A few simple, common-sense amendments to the current Consumer Fraud Act would punish deceptive business practices while curbing nuisance litigation against honest businesses. A new white paper from Emory University Law School professor Joanna Shepherd, "The Expansion of New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act: Causes and Consequences," details just how we got to the point where we are suing over sandwiches. It begins by explaining that the Garden State's law was initially modeled after the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914.

When it comes to judicial decision-making, says Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd, money matters. The Daily Report covered Shepherd's recent talk at the local chapter of the American Constitution Society. Her research indicates that a justice who receives more than half of his or her contributions from business groups sides with business interests about two-thirds of the time in deciding cases. (registration/subscription required)

The scare tactic raised by the food industry that labeling would increase prices has been debunked in an study by Joanna Shepherd Bailey, a professor at Emory University School of Law.

The Georgia Senate is holding the second of five hearings today on a bold proposal to eliminate the state's medical malpractice system and replace it with a no-blame administrative model.

When businesses give judges money, they usually get what they want.