Political Scientist at the University of Guelph

Kate Puddister, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Political Science

University of Guelph

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I am an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Guelph. My research and teaching focus on law and politics, criminal justice policy, policing, sentencing, and Canadian politics. I teach courses in the Political Science, and the Criminal Justice and Public Policy programs. I am the author of Seeking the Court’s Advice: The Politics of the Canadian Reference Power (2019, UBC Press). My work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Law and Society, Canadian Public Administration, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, among others. I have contributed expert analysis to multiple media outlets including radio, television and print. Before joining the University of Guelph, I completed a Ph.D. in Political Science at McGill University, and a M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy and an honours B.A. in Criminal Justice and Public Policy at the University of Guelph. I was the Eakin Visiting Fellow at the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada in Fall 2022.

Recent Publications & Current Projects

Books:

2022. Constitutional Crossroads: Contemplations on Charter Rights, Reconciliation and Constitutional Change (UBC Press) with Emmett Macfarlane.

2019. Seeking the Court’s Advice: The Politics of the Canadian Reference Power (UBC Press).



Recent Articles:

forthcoming. “Police Oversight in Practice: The Special Investigations Unit and Civilian Police Oversight in Ontario, Canada,” Policing & Society. with Danielle McNabb

2024. “To Serve and Protect? An Empirical Study of Police-Involved Sexual Assault,” Women & Criminal Justice 34(2): 149-170. with Danielle McNabb

2024. “Common Sense Justice? Comparing Populist and Mainstream Right Positions on Law and Order in 24 Countries,” Party Politics 30(2): 223-235. with Edward Koning

2023. “Civilian Police Oversight and Accountability for Serious Incidents in Canada: Who Polices the Police?” Canadian Public Administration 66(3): 390-408

2021. “What We’ve Got Here is Failure to Cooperate: Provincial Governments and the Canadian Reference Power,” Revue Générale de Droit 51(2): 91-128.

2021. “When the Police Break the Law: The Investigation, Prosecution and Sentencing of Ontario Police Officers,” Canadian Journal of Law and Society. 36(3): 381-404. with Danielle McNabb.

2021. “How the Canadian Sentencing System Impacts Policy Reform — An Examination of the Harper Era,” Law & Policy 43(2): 149-169.

2020. “Play-by-Play Justice: Tweeting Criminal Trials in the Digital Age,” Canadian Journal of Law and Society 35(1): 1-22. with Tamara A. Small.

2020. “Tweet Justice: The Canadian Court’s Use of Social Media.” American Review of Canadian Studies 50(2): 229-244. with Andrew Mattan and Tamara A. Small.

2020. “Trial by Zoom? The Response to COVID-19 By Canada’s Courts,” Canadian Journal of Political Science 53(2): 373-377. with Tamara Small.

2019. “The Canadian Reference Power: Delegation to the Courts and the Navigation of Federalism.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 49(4): 561-586.

2019. “A Question They Can’t Refuse? Judicial Independence and the Power to Refuse Reference Questions.” Canadian Political Science Review. 13(1): 34-71.

2019. “Navigating the Principle of Open Court in the Digital Age: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same,” Canadian Public Administration 62(2): 202-224, with Tamara A. Small.


 Current Projects

  • Policing by Consent: Evaluating Civilian Police Oversight in Ontario (funded by SSHRC). This project examines police oversight and investigations by the Special Investigations Unit when police—civilian interaction results in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.

  • Canadian Courts in the Digital Age (with Tamara A. Small). This project looks at the impact of digital technology on access to justice, the principle of open court and the operation of the Canadian judicial system.

  • Canadian sentencing policy. This project takes examines the nature and impact of Canadian sentencing policy through a focus on institutions of public policy, judicial review and federalism

  • The Canadian Reference Power. This project analyzes the political and strategic uses of the Canadian reference power.
     

Teaching & Supervisions

I am happy to collaborate with undergraduate and graduate students on a variety of topics:

  • Law and politics: judicial power and judicial review, advisory opinions and the Canadian reference power, the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Supreme Court of Canada, the judicialization of politics, judicial independence, policy impact and more

  • Criminal justice policy: policing policy, police oversight and accountability, undercover policing and Mr. Big, sentencing policy and law, criminal justice policymaking, and more

  • Canadian politics: political institutions, public policy and federalism



Teaching      

  • POLS*1150 Understanding Politics

  • POLS*3130 Law, Politics and Judicial Process

  • POLS*3300 Governing Criminal Justice

  • POLS*3300 (DE) Governing Criminal Justice

  • POLS*4050 Advanced Topics in Law and Politics (Sentencing and Penal Policy)

  • POLS*4060 Advanced Lecture in Law and Politics (Sentencing and Penal Policy)

  • POLS*4110 Criminal Justice Policy and Law

  • POLS*4130 Advanced Lecture in Criminal Justice Policy and Law

  • POLS*6200 Law and Politics

  • POLS*6960 Dialogue Theory and Its Critics (reading course)

  • CCJP*6000 Courts

  • CCJP*6100 Governing Criminal Justice

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Knowledge Mobilization & Media

My research on police oversight and the prosecution of Ontario police officers was profiled by the Toronto Star:

Researchers Tracked Nearly 150 Charges Against Ontario Police Officers Since 2005. Most Ended in Acquittal or Withdrawn Charges, by Wendy Gillis.


Recent Publications:

2024. “Does the Ontario Special Investigations Unit Need a Broader Mandate to Improve Police Oversight?” The Conversation, with Danielle McNabb.

2022. “Convictions Remain Rare When Police are Accused of Sexual Assault.” The Conversation, with Danielle McNabb

2022. “What Happens When Police Commit Crimes?” Policy Options, with Danielle McNabb

2019. “#MeToo: In Canada, Rape Myths Continue to Prevent Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors,” The Conversation, with Danielle McNabb. This piece was part of The Conversation’s coverage of International Women’s Day

2018 “Police Investigation in Tina Fontaine’s Murder: Rethinking the Mr. Big Method.” The Conversation.


I am a frequent commentator in national and local media on a variety of issues relating to law and politics, police oversight and accountability, and criminal justice policy.

Contact

Kate Puddister

Department of Political Science

University of Guelph

50 Stone Road East

Guelph, ON N1G 2W1

519-824-4120 x.52424

kpuddist@uoguelph.ca


 
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