Kevin Cope

Kevin Cope serves as Associate Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he has been faculty since 2019. He also holds affiliated positions as Associated Faculty in the Department of Politics and previously served as a Visiting Professor at Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University School of Law (2023-24). His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan (2020), an LL.M. with focus on International Law from Georgetown University Law Center (2012), and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law (2004).

Cope's research spans law and political science, with primary focus on empirical legal studies, political-legal decision-making, immigration law, human and civil rights, and judicial ideology. His methodological approach combines empirical, comparative, and formal theoretical frameworks to analyze how legal institutions function within broader political contexts. He has made significant contributions to understanding constitutional rights during crises, the measurement of judicial ideology, and the global evolution of foreign relations law.

His scholarly output demonstrates consistent engagement with both theoretical and practical legal questions, reflected in his 15 most recent publications spanning constitutional law, international law, immigration policy, and empirical legal methodology. These works reveal a trajectory of increasingly sophisticated methodological approaches to legal questions, with recent publications emphasizing quantitative and experimental techniques for measuring legal concepts traditionally considered abstract or subjective.

• Fellow of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies
• Rackham Summer Award research grant ($8000), University of Michigan (2016)
• University Research Initiative Grant ($7500), Center for Global Inquiry + Innovation (2016-17)
• LL.M., Dean's List & With Distinction, Georgetown University Law Center (2012)

Cope maintains an active role in legal education and public discourse, having served as co-editor of the Oxford University Handbook on Comparative Immigration Law and contributed analysis to major media outlets including The Atlantic, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, and NPR's All Things Considered. His teaching portfolio at UVA includes Constitutional Law II, Torts, Immigration Law, The Law of Treaties, and Federal Judicial Process, reflecting the breadth of his expertise across both doctrinal and theoretical legal domains.