Her research is in the subfield of American politics with specific focus in the areas of judicial politics, the criminal justice system, state politics, representation, and political methodology. Allison’s current research program investigates the effect of group-level characteristics on individual criminal court judges’ decisions. Specifically, she finds that as the group of judges comprising the criminal court bench becomes more racially diverse, individual judges are less likely to render incarceration sentences in felony cases with Black defendants. Allison’s other projects address disparities in police traffic stops, changes in public opinion on reparations, and the relationship between redistricting and state-level polarization. [ … ]