John (Jack) Deschler

About Me

I am a PhD candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School (Public Policy program, Politics and Institutions Track). I earned my JD from Harvard Law School in 2026, and will be working as a clinical fellow at the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School for the 2026?27 academic year. I also hold an AM from the Harvard Department of Statistics. I’ve always searched for intersections in my academic career; as an undergraduate, I combined computer and political science, and now, between HKS and Harvard Law, I hope to toe the line between political science and legal research. I am fascinated by the vast number of unanswered legal questions that political scientists have the tools to examine, and hope to use my training in both disciplines to further understand the American legal system. I aim to teach law from an empirical perspective, hoping to broaden the statistical knowledge of the legal profession on a larger scale.

Publications

Selected Works in Progress

Research Interests

• Judicial Politics: appointments, retirements, polarization
• Judicial Decisionmaking: factors that go into judicial decisions, tracking downstream effects, relationship between different court levels
• Empirical Legal Studies: jurisdictional boundaries, judicial administration, models of American courts

My research experience includes work with Professors Vicki Jackson (HLS), Richard Re (HLS), Guy-Uriel Charles (HLS), Maya Sen (HKS), Justin de Benedictis-Kessner (HKS), Larry Schwartztol (HLS), Jim Waldo (Harvard Computer Science/HKS) and the Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program.

Teaching

As a Graduate Student

• Federal Courts, Prof. Vicki Jackson, Harvard Law. Teaching Fellow, Spring 2026.
• Senior Thesis Writers Workshop. Harvard College, Government Department. Teaching Fellow. Fall 2025-Spring 2026.
• Constitutional Law, Prof. Vicki Jackson, Harvard Law. Teaching Fellow, Spring 2025.
• The Supreme Court, Law, and Public Policy, Prof. Maya Sen, HKS/Harvard College. Teaching Fellow, Fall 2024.
• Civil Procedure, Prof. D. James Greiner, Harvard Law. Teaching Fellow, Fall 2023.

As an Undergraduate

• "Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties," Dr. Gabe Katsh, Harvard Summer School. Summer 2019.
• Applied Computation 221, "Critical Thinking for Data Science," Prof. Jim Waldo, Harvard Kennedy School. Teaching Fellow Spring 2019.
• Computer Science 105, "Privacy and Technology," Prof. Jim Waldo, Harvard College. Teaching Fellow Fall 2018.
• Computer Science 50, "Introduction to Computer Science I," Prof. David J. Malan, Harvard College. Senior Teaching Fellow Fall 2016 and 2017. Derek Bok Center Certificate for Distinction in Teaching, Fall 2016.

Advising

• Jonah Simon, Questioning Justice: Salience-Conditioned Polarization on the Supreme Court*, Senior Thesis in Government, March 2026, summa cum laude.

Education, Experience, and (non-Research) Interests

I hold a B.A. from Harvard College in Computer Science and Government, with a secondary in Energy and Environment. During my graduate studies, I have completed an A.M. in Statistics. I served as an Exectutive Articles Editor for Volumes 60?63 of the Harvard Journal on Legislation. During the 2023-24 academic year I coordinated the Kennedy School PhD Students Association mentoring program for incoming G1 students, and play for the Harvard Law School soccer team in a Boston-area graduate school league. Outside of school, I coach youth rock climbing at Boston Bouldering Project, play competitive ultimate frisbee for Boston League of Shadows, and enjoy surfing (poorly). I also once wrote a full-length musical about the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

My previous experience includes a variety of research and teaching positions (listed above). Between college and graduate school, I worked for the Voter Protection Corps, the Michigan Democratic Party during the 2020 campaign, and then on the redistricting process at the Metric Geometry and Gerrymandering Group. After my first year of law school, I interned at the solicitor’s office in the Department of the Interior.

Other Work and Writing

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