Associate Professor
Ph.D. University of Virginia, 1995
J.D. University of Dayton School of Law, 1984
Fields: constitutional law, criminal justice, judicial politics, American government
Dr. Banks combines his research and teaching interests by studying the political behavior of the judiciary, the legal and criminal process, and American politics. He has published books and articles relating to judicial policy-making, federalism, terrorism, Bush v. Gore (2000), the politics of court reform, and the judicial politics of the D.C. Circuit. On campus Dr. Banks works closely with the Department of Justice Studies and teaches cross-listed graduate courses in political science and justice studies, including those offered in law, justice, and society. On the undergraduate level he teaches courts and American politics. Before receiving his doctorate, he practiced law in civil and criminal litigation. In addition to practicing law and campaigning for state representative in Connecticut in 1988, thereafter he was appointed by Governor William O’Neill to serve as an administrative hearing officer for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
Selected Books, Articles and Essays:
- Courts and Judicial Policymaking (Prentice Hall, 2007) (co-authored with David M. O’Brien)
- Final Arbiter: The Consequences of Bush v. Gore for Law and Politics, eds. Christopher P. Banks, David B. Cohen, and John C. Green (State University of New York Press, 2006)
- Superintending Democracy: The Courts and the Political Process, eds. Christopher P. Banks and John C. Green (University of Akron Press, 2001)
- Judicial Politics in the D.C. Circuit Court (John Hopkins University Press, 1999)
- “Judicial Policymaking and the Advancement of ESC Rights” (forthcoming in April 2008), in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in an Age of Globalization ("Direitos Económicos, Sociais e Culturais numa Era de Globalização”), published by Coimbra Editora, Coimbra, Portugal) [a bilingual press].
- "National Security Letters and the Rule of Law After 9/11", in The Day that Changed Everything? Looking at the Impact of 9-11 at the End of the Decade, ed. Matthew J. Morgan (Greenwood/Praeger International Security Press, forthcoming).
“Legislative Investigations”, In David Tanenhous, ed., Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson Gale, forthcoming).
"Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment", In Otis H. Stephens Jr., John M. Scheb II, and Kara E. Stooksbury, eds., Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006): 393-95.
“The Politics of Constitutional Choices in light of Bush v. Gore (2000)” in Final Arbiter: The Consequences of Bush v. Gore for Law and Politics eds. David B. Cohen and John C. Green (Albany: SUNY Press, 2005).
“Reliving Groundhog Day? The 2004 Presidential Election and the Legacy of Bush v. Gore” in Final Arbiter: The Consequences of Bush v. Gore for Law and Politics, eds. David B. Cohen and John C. Green (Albany: SUNY Press, 2005) (with co-author David B. Cohen).
“Political Thicket” with, as revision, co-author J.W. Peltason.The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2d ed., ed. Kermit L. Hall (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005).
“Protecting (or Destroying) Freedom through Law: The USA PATRIOT Act’s Constitutional Implications,” in American National Security and Civil Liberties in an Era of Terrorism, eds. David B. Cohen and John W. Wells (Palgrave MacMillan, 2004)
“The Constitutional Politics of Interpreting Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment,” University of Akron Law Review 36:425-471 (2003)
“The Politics of Court Reform in the U.S. Courts of Appeals,” Judicature 84: 34-43 (2000)
“The Supreme Court and Precedent: An Analysis of Natural Courts and Reversal Trends,” Judicature 75: 262-268 (1992)
e-mail: cbanks6@kent.edu
Curriculum Vitae (.pdf)