Amanda C. Savage (Bryan)

Hello! I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, where my research focuses on judicial decision-making and the external forces that shape it. My work lies at the intersection of public opinion, institutional legitimacy, and the U.S. Supreme Court. I am particularly interested in how public trust in the judiciary is formed and how the Court is constrained by public and political pressures. I also study the Court’s agenda-setting process, its relationship to the separation of powers, and the ways it secures compliance from the lower courts. My work has been published in Political Behavior,  Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research, Justice System Journal, and Social Science Quarterly. 

At Loyola, I teach classes on constitutional law, the judicial process, and American political institutions. Some of my favorites include Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties, Judicial Politics, and Hollywood and the Law. In all my courses, I love helping students explore how law, politics, and judges intersect in shaping American democracy. 

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Outside of campus, I spend most of my time wrangling my two small kids, Rory and Blake, and just trying to drink my coffee before it gets cold. I spend my summers cheering for the Cubs and my falls rooting for the Packers—lifelong loyalties I’m now enthusiastically passing on to the next generation.