My research is focued on incorporating sources and methodologies often used in the humanities. I consider law not as a question of doctrine, but as a social and cultural artifact. As such, a focus on using non-legal sources is critical to understanding historical change. To that end, my current projects include a study of a nineteenth century trial approvingly referred to as the fastest death penalty case in the history of the U.S., as told through a lost Appalachian murder ballad, as well as a project examining the interplay between free speech rights, blue laws, and stand-up comedy.
