Hold the Phone: The Relationship Between Visual Cues and Gender Schematic Language in Supreme Court Oral Argument

Author

Kaitlyn O’Leary, University of RichmondFollow

Date of Award

4-14-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Political Science

First Advisor

Jennifer Bowie

Second Advisor

Ernest McGowen

Abstract

A few years ago, on the evening before he was to argue a case before the Supreme Court, Jeffrey Fisher broke his glasses (Gresko and Sherman, 2020). This left the nearsighted lawyer with two choices: He could either a) wear his contacts, which would allow him to see the justice’s faces but not his notes or b) skip his contacts, which would allow him to read his notes but not see the justice’s faces (Gresko and Sherman, 2020). For Jeffrey, this was an easy choicehe couldn’t imagine doing oral argument without seeing their faces (Gresko and Sherman, 2020). However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this unimaginable circumstance would soon become reality. During the pandemic, for the first time in its 230 year history, the Supreme Court held oral arguments in a format lacking visual cues: over the telephone.

Recommended Citation

O’Leary, Kaitlyn, "Hold the Phone: The Relationship Between Visual Cues and Gender Schematic Language in Supreme Court Oral Argument" (2023). Honors Theses. 1686.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1686