LEGAL EDUCATION’S DIVERSITY PROBLEM: Measuring The Conservative Penalty And Liberal Bonus With Updated 2023 U.S. News Rankings Data. “This Article produces a strong, cumulative case for the existence of ideological discrimination in law school in general and, more specifically, in the peer rankings. The conclusion of ideological discrimination is further strengthened when the results of this research are considered in tandem with the compelling evidence of ideological discrimination in hiring law professors—a decision in which law school deans also play a significant role. Because peer rankings are the leading factor in the overall rankings, this anti-conservative bias also inflicts a conservative penalty there as well, although less severe. While the magnitude of ideological bias discovered in this study may be surprising, the notion that law school deans—consciously or otherwise—apply a conservative penalty and liberal bonus when ranking law schools is not surprising. The political ideologies of law school deans are likely comparable with those of law school faculty—which are highly disproportionately liberal.”