Jonathan “Jay” Casper, a legal scholar and a former chairman of Northwestern’s political science department, died March 3 after a long illness. He was 63.
Casper stretched the boundaries of political science by advocating the legal realism perspective of the judicial system. Legal realists study results, processes and individuals – rather than specific laws – to understand the implementation and effects of the law. Casper focused on justice in the legal system.
Kennette Benedict, Casper’s ex-wife, said Casper was the first person to look at the process of plea bargains from the defendant’s point of view. In the study, he found that many defendants who made plea bargains said their convictions were just if they thought the process was fair.
“He had the ability to capture other people’s thinking and to write about them in a humane and caring way without being overly sentimental,” Benedict said.
One of his most influential pieces was a 1976 article in the American Political Science Review entitled “The Supreme Court and National Policy Making.” The article analyzed Supreme Court decisions that were reversed by Congress and concluded that the court had more power and influence than was previously thought. The article is widely used in law courses.
Casper headed NU’s political science department from 1988-91 and 1994-97. Casper also served as an associate dean in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and as a faculty fellow at NU’s Institute for Policy Research. He also was a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation.
NU Law Prof. Shari Diamond, who collaborated on several research projects with Casper, said Casper was dedicated to the ideal of justice. She and Casper analyzed the need to prevent expert witnesses in capital punishment cases from overestimating the level of future danger a defendant poses.
“His inclination in selecting research topics was towards the importance of justice,” she said.
Susan Shapiro, also a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, worked with Casper. She said he was quick to understand problems.
“He was able to get to the core of the argument,” she said. “He had an incisive and analytical mind. He was very straightforward. You did not need to guess what he meant.”
Benedict said Casper was outgoing, gregarious and genuine in his interactions with people.
“He was not one to advertise about himself
