Published in Cambridge University Press, 2011
Investigates the causes and consequences of congressional attacks on the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the extent of public support for judicial independence constitutes the practical limit of judicial independence.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (2011). The Limits of Judicial Independence. Cambridge University Press. (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
Published in Cambridge University Press, 2017
Examines how the broader political climate frames legal issues and shapes the coalitions that emerge among the justices, building on models for measuring ideology from voting behavior.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. The Supreme Court: An Analytic History of Constitutional Decision Making. Cambridge University Press. (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
Published in Journal Article, 2020
Evaluates the effect of the federal 1033 program — which transfers surplus military equipment to local police — on crime rates, finding little evidence that it decreases crime.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (2020). "Does Military Aid to Police Decrease Crime? Counterevidence from the Federal 1033 Program and Local Police Jurisdictions in the United States."
Published in West Academic, 2020
A casebook on judicial decision-making for law and political science courses.
Recommended citation: Friedman, Barry, Tom S. Clark, Margaret Lemos, Andrew D. Martin, Anna Harvey, and Allison Larsen. (2020). Judicial Decision Making. West Academic.
Published in Journal of Politics, 2021
Shows that the partisan composition of appellate panels has a significant effect on execution rates for capital defendants.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (2021). "Republican-Majority Appellate Panels Increase Execution Rates for Capital Defendants." Journal of Politics, 83(3).
Published in Journal Article, 2022
Examines the role of ideology and strategic considerations in Supreme Court voting behavior.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (2022). "Politics from the Bench? Ideology and Strategic Voting in the Supreme Court of the United States."
Published in Journal Article, 2023
Analyzes patterns in officer-involved shootings across U.S. cities, examining the demographic, geographic, and situational factors associated with police use of deadly force.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (2023). "When, Where, and Whom Do the Police Shoot?" — Winner of the Joseph Bernd Award, best paper in the Journal of Politics.
Published in Princeton University Press, 2025
Documents patterns of officer-involved shootings over two decades across the 300 largest U.S. cities, using open records requests to evaluate racial bias, military equipment transfers, and the effects of public disclosure on police use of force.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S., Adam N. Glynn, and Michael Leo Owens. (2025). Deadly Force: Police Shootings in Urban America. Princeton University Press.
Published in Working Paper, 2025
Current research examining how appellate courts set their agendas and make law, with implications for understanding judicial power and institutional design.
Recommended citation: Clark, Tom S. (forthcoming). "Agenda Setting and Lawmaking in Appellate Courts."