Oversight Scholars
Our objective is to foster high-quality oversight investigations by elected officials at the federal, state, local and international levels. To support that objective, we facilitate and expand scholarly research into issues related to oversight investigations.
How we support oversight scholarship
Our academic activities include sponsoring panel discussions and academic gatherings, offering fellowships and other research opportunities, providing extensive research resources, and maintaining an oversight scholar listserve to promote academic exchange and discussion.
Sign-up to our oversight scholars listserv
We maintain a listserv for oversight scholars to distribute new research or research resources.
Oversight Fellows
We launched our oversight fellowship program in 2021 with generous support from the Sunwater Institute and will award one or more non-resident fellowships every year to early career scholars to promote and advance research efforts in oversight.
Oversight Library
As a service to the academic community interested in oversight issues, we facilitate access to academic research papers, books, datasets and other materials on topics of interest. Search our extensive oversight library or submit new entries for us to add!
Oversight Case Law
Portraits in Oversight
Scholars, educators, the public, and even legislators are not always sure about what is meant by the term “oversight.” To help explain, we’ve compiled short portraits of important congressional oversight investigations as well as Members of Congress who championed oversight. Join us for a quick history walk!
Oversight Research Award
Our yearly ‘Excellence in Oversight Research’ award recognizes an outstanding oversight research paper with a prize of $2,500. Submit a paper to be considered for this year’s award!
Recent Scholarly Events
May 16, 2023: “House Rules: Congress and the Attorney-Client Privilege" - 2022 Research Award Winner Presentation
On May 16, the winner of our 2022 Research Award, Professor Dave Rapallo of Georgetown University Law Center, discussed his award-winning paper “House Rules: Congress and the Attorney-Client Privilege”.
Professor Rapallo’s paper offers a compelling and timely defense of the right of Congress to determine whether, when, and how to recognize the attorney-client privilege and other judicially created common law privileges when seeking information in the course of an oversight investigation. The paper presents persuasive historical and judicial precedents and offers an engaging alternative reading of Supreme Court dicta on this matter in the 2020 Mazars opinion.
Presenter: David Rapallo, Associate Professor of Law – Georgetown University Law Center
Moderator: Gregory Fox, Professor of Law – Wayne State University Law School
Downloads:
- House Rules: Congress and the Attorney-Client Privilege – paper by Professor David Rapallo
- Presentation Slides
- Video Shown at End of Presentation
