Assistant Professor of Political Science. Ph.D., Boston College, 2011; J.D., Georgetown University, 2004.
Prof. Nolette’s teaching and research interests focus on the interplay between
politics and law. His current research projects explore the politics of
litigation, including how lawsuits are used to pursue policy change. Prof.
Nolette's recent article in Polity examined how state attorneys general
contributed to national policy development during America's Gilded Age. His
dissertation, Advancing National Policy in the Courts: The Use of Multistate
Litigation by State Attorneys General, examined how modern-day state litigators
have brought legal actions against large corporations and the federal government
as a way to influence national policy. In 2012, this work was awarded the
American Political Science Association's William Anderson Award as well as an
honorable mention for best dissertation by the Law & Society Association. In
addition to exploring the causes and political consequences of this
state-initiated litigation across American political history, Prof. Nolette is
also interested in how national legal associations, such as the American Bar
Association, have influenced legal norms and American political development. He
has previously published law review articles in the areas of comparative
constitutional law and white collar crime.
Prof. Nolette completed his
Ph.D. in political science at Boston College prior to joining the Marquette
faculty in the fall of 2011. He also received a law degree from the Georgetown
University Law Center in 2004 and a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Anselm College
in 2001. After law school, Prof. Nolette worked in a litigation law firm and
later served as the legal counsel for the Labor and Workforce Development
Committee in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
