Hitt studies judgment and decision making in American politics, primarily in elite institutions, especially the U.S. Supreme Court. He is interested in how institutional and external factors influence the choices political actors make, especially at the collective level, in Congress, the judiciary, and the bureaucracy.

Hitt’s research has appeared or is forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Energy Policy, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Journal of Communication, Law & Society Review, Political Communication, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Studies in American Political Development.

Hitt has written a book, “Inconsistency and Indecision in the United States Supreme Court.” Hitt’s doctoral dissertation was awarded the 2015 Edward S. Corwin prize for best dissertation in public law by the American Political Science Association.
Hitt earned his B.A. from Coloradoo State University in 2007 and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 2014.