Author Talk with Paul M. Collins, Jr.

• Supreme Bias: Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings by Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand
• Wednesday, December 10, 2025. 12pm - 1:00pm
• In-person and Virtual event. No registration required.
• State Library of Massachusetts - Room 341, Massachusetts State House
• Livestream on YouTube
• Books available for purchase; $15.00 cash or Venmo

The State Library of Massachusetts Author Talks Series welcomes Paul Collins as our December speaker. Collins is a contributing author of the 2023 book Supreme Bias: Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.

Supreme Bias was the recipient of the 2024 C. Herman Pritchett Award, sponsored by the American Political Science Association (APSA) - Law and Courts Section and the 2024 winner of the Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title, sponsored by the American Library Association.

This is an in-person and virtual event. The livestream available on our YouTube channel courtesy of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Broadcast Services. Tune in at noon!

Be sure to sign up for our Author Talks newsletter and follow our social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, and X) for the latest information on our visiting authors. If you are unable to attend, the recording will be posted to our YouTube channel to watch anytime - view all past recordings here!

About the book: Supreme Bias takes a deep dive into the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Specifically, the book highlights the extreme bias that female and people of color nominees face during the judicial confirmation process. The book compiles quantitative and qualitative evidence showing that gender and racial bias affects the interviews; women and people of color are more frequently interrupted, subject to stereo-typed base questioning, and overall critiqued in more negative terms than their white, male counterparts. Despite this alarming evidence, Supreme Bias and its authors provide solutions to combat such bias even in the highest court.

About the author: Paul M. Collins, Jr. is Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Collins holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from Binghamton University and a B.S. in political science from the University of Scranton. He served as the inaugural Director of Legal Studies at UMass from 2014-2020. Collins works with both undergraduate and graduate students; his research focusing on inequality in our legal system.

Collins is a respected author and scholar; his articles appearing in law reviews and journals, and he currently sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Politics. He has secured grants from the Dirksen Congressional Center and the National Science Foundation for his research. In addition to being an author of four books, Collins' work and commentary has appeared on CNN, USA Today, his writing also included on SCOTUSblog, Slate, and the Washington Post.

Please visit Paul’s blog and UMass site for a complete professional biography, a full list of his academic articles, and for more information on his research and teaching.

As always, this author talk is free and open to all. Assisted listening devices will be made available upon request. If you are able to join us in person for this talk, attendees will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author. Books will be available for purchase; $15.00 cash or Venmo.

Any questions or concerns, please email us at AuthorTalks.StateLibrary@mass.gov. For more information on the State Library Author Talks series, please visit our site.


April Pascucci
On behalf of the Author Talks Working Group