Biography 

Kirk Randazzo is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. Professor Randazzo’s research and teaching interests span the fields of American Politics, Comparative Politics, and Methodology – with a particular focus on law and judicial politics. His work focuses on legal constraints to judicial decision making, strategic behavior among judges, and aspects of judicial independence within fledgling democracies. Additionally, his book Defenders of Liberty or Champions of Security? Federal Courts, the Hierarchy of Justice, and U.S. Foreign Policy (from SUNY Press) examines how federal judges balance competing preferences over liberty and security when adjudicating foreign policy cases. He has also published articles in journals such as the Journal of Politics, American Politics Research, the Justice System Journal, Experimental Economics, and in various law reviews.

Professor Randazzo is also the Director of the Judicial Research Initiative (JuRI) at USC (www.cas.sc.edu/poli/juri). He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2003. Prior to his current appointment at USC, he was a faculty member at the University of Kentucky.