UAlbany Center for Policy Research Seminar Series Presents
"Blue Slips Sink Ships: The Transformation of Senatorial Courtesy"

Contact: Karl Luntta (518) 437-4980

What: A seminar on the "blue slip," an institutionalized practice of the Senate Judiciary Committee to show deference to home state senators in judicial nominations.

Given the impact of the blue slip on the nomination and confirmation of the president's judicial appointees, the seminar examines: why and when was the blue slip created? What led senators to extend procedural rights to all senators, regardless of party, when a norm of senatorial courtesy protected only the influence of senators from the president's party? What lessons can we draw from the creation of the blue slip about the dynamics that lead legislators to institutionalize informal chamber norms? Why and when do legislators decide that informal norms are insufficient to protect their procedural rights?

Who: Sarah Binder
Associate Professor of Political Science, George Washington University, and Brookings Institution Fellow

When: Friday, March 19, 3 -- 4 p.m.

Where: Milne 200, Milne Hall, University at Albany downtown campus,
135 Western Avenue, Albany

How: Attendance is free, no reservations necessary.