Melinda Gann Hall, professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University, has been named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair.
Hall will use the funding to support her six-month residency at the University of Edinburgh School of Law, studying U.K. subnational courts.
She will conduct the first empirical study of decision-making in appellate cases in Scotland’s High Court of Justiciary, including sentence reviews and any subsequent appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
“This project will be an excellent opportunity to extend my specialization on state supreme courts and judicial politics to another common law nation while living in one of the most interesting and powerful nations in the world. I am especially looking forward to developing new professional networks and collegial relationships in the United Kingdom,” she said.
Hall’s current research focuses on judicial politics in the U.S. appellate courts, judicial decision-making, the selection and retention of state court judges and court reform.
The highly coveted Fulbright grants are issued by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to foster international academic exchange.
The Fulbright is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Each year, about 1,200 U.S. scholars study in 155 countries.