Paul M. Collins

Paul M. Collins is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas. His new book is Friends of the Supreme Court: Interest Groups and Judicial Decision Making.

Last week I asked him what he was reading. His reply:

I am currently reading A Confederacy of Dunces by the late John Kennedy Toole. I was turned onto it by my good friend, Catie, who, like me, is a New York, Irish-Catholic transplant to the South. It is brilliant fiction; absolutely hysterical. The story centers on Ignatius J. Reilly’s search for employment in New Orleans and his run-ins with a host of colorful personalities in the French Quarter. My wife informed me that I remind her of Ignatius. I like to think this is due to my somewhat quirky personality, as opposed to my physical appearance and style of dress.

Learn more about Friends of the Supreme Court at the Oxford University Press website.

Among the early praise for the book:

"Professor Paul Collins provides a scholarly read that addresses a topic of consuming academic and legal interests: agenda setting on the Supreme Court. He meticulously analyzes all aspects of amici participation not only in depth, but also longitudinally - from the beginning of the Vinson Court in 1946 to the end of the 2001 term. None have investigated the subject as comprehensively and as thoroughly as Professor Collins, and I fully expect it to become the definitive work on amicus curiae participation and influence."
--Harold Spaeth, Michigan State University

Visit Paul M. Collins' faculty webpage.

--Marshal Zeringue