The Politics of Federal Prosecution

Christina L. Boyd is an Associate Professor of Political Science and holds affiliations with the Criminal Justice Program and School of Law at the University of Georgia. Boyd received her Ph.D. in political science from Washington University in St. Louis and her J.D. from Wake Forest University. Her research examines federal trial courts, judicial diversity, the legal process, and empirical legal studies. She is the winner of the 2008 Midwest Political Science Association Best Paper Award, along with university teaching and mentoring awards. Michael J. Nelson is Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor in Political Science, Associate Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics, and Affiliate Law Faculty at Pennsylvania State University. He studies the causes and consequences of judicial power in the United States and abroad.Ian Ostrander is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science atMichigan State University. Ian received his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and has also spent time working within the Senate as a 2012-2013 APSA Congressional Fellow in Washington D.C. Ian's research and teaching interests primarily concern American political institutions with a particular emphasis on executive nominations to bureaucratic and judicial posts, presidential policy-making and agenda-setting powers, the development of Senate procedure, and the importance of congressional staff.Ethan D. Boldt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy at North Dakota State University where he teaches American politics, constitutional law, and judicial process. His research focuses on the criminal justice system, courts, and law. His work has been published in such journals as Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Law & Courts, and Criminal Justice Policy Review. He holds degrees from the University of Georgia (Ph.D. inpolitical science) and Illinois State University (B.S. in criminal justice and political science).

• AcknowledgementsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 Federal Prosecution Yesterday and TodayChapter 3 Confirming U.S. AttorneysChapter 4 Departures & Removals Chapter 5 Theorizing Political Responsiveness in Prosecutorial Decision MakingChapter 6 To Prosecute or Not: Prosecutors as Agenda Setters Chapter 7 The Charging & Bargaining DecisionsChapter 8 Criminal Asset Forfeiture as a Political Tool Chapter 9 Conclusion: The Political Prosecutor Today and Tomorrow

The Politics of Federal Prosecution is an impressive piece of research. The authors' extensive evidence and compelling results disrupt fantasies of independent, isolated, or apolitical federal prosecutors. It will serve to instruct readers unfamiliar with USAs and the political climate in which they operate, while inspiring future work in judicial politics and bureaucratic control.