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Dr. Todd Peppers

Professor

Department:
Public Affairs
Location:
212 Francis T. West Hall
Phone:
(540)375-2417

Degrees

  • Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Ph.D. in Political Science. 2003.
  • University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia. J.D., 1994.
  • Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. B.A., 1990 (summa cum laude).

Research & Teaching Interests

  • Supreme Court
  • Judicial Institutions
  • Civil Liberties
  • Death Penalty

Books

  • "Crossing the River Styx: Memoir of a Death Row Chaplain." University of Virginia Press (March 2023) (with Russ Ford and Charles Peppers).
  • "A Courageous Fool: Marie Deans and Her Fight against the Death Penalty." Vanderbilt University Press (July 2017) (with Margaret Anderson).
  • "Anatomy of an Execution: The Life and Death of Douglas Christopher Thomas." Northeastern University Press (November 2009) (with Laura Anderson).
  • "Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk." Stanford University Press (April 2006).
  • Edited volume: "Of Courtiers and Princes: Stories of Lower Court Clerks and Their Judges." University of Virginia Press (February 2021).
  • Edited volume: "Of Courtiers & Kings: More Stories of Supreme Court Law Clerks and Their Justices." University of Virginia Press (December 2015) (with Clare Cushman).
  • Edited volume: "In Chambers: Stories of Supreme Court Law Clerks and Their Justices." University of Virginia Press (February 2012)

Publications

  • “The Chief Justice and the Page: Earl Warren, Charles Bush, and the Promise of Brown v. Board of Education.” Journal of Supreme Court History Vol. 47, No. 1 (March 2022): 27-43.
  • “Arthur A. Thomas: A Hero of a Valet.” Journal of Supreme Court History Vol. 46, No. 3 (November 2021): 271-279.
  • “‘Destructive to Judicial Dignity:’ The Poetry of Melville Weston Fuller.” Journal of Supreme Court History Vol. 46, No. 2 (July 2021): 148-161 (with Mary Hill).
  • “Deborah Gelin: Supreme Court Pioneer.” Supreme Court Historical Society Quarterly (March 2021).
  • “A Secretary’s Absence for a Law School Exam.” Green Bag Almanac & Reader (Winter 2020): 156-166.
  • “Melville Weston Fuller and the Great Mustache Debate of 1888.” Journal of Supreme Court History Vol. 45, No. 2 (July 2020): 140-150.
  • "Mourning the Magnificent Yankee: The Funeral of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr." 41/42 Sup. Ct. Hist. Soc'y Q. No. 4 & 1 at 4 (2019).

Available as a Media resource for the following topics

  • Supreme Court
  • Death Penalty

Willing to speak to professional, social or civic groups on

  • Supreme Court
  • Law Clerks
  • Death Penalty

Extracurricular

  • Board of Directors, Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty