That's it for this evening. If anyone is curious to see other types of statistics, please let me know. Otherwise I'll be on the look out for any other notable patterns.
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Daniel Rankin
563 posts
The obvious inference is that the justices typically have more bandwidth to write opinions dissenting/concurring from denials before the term is in full swing, and to the extent they have non-merits opinions during the term, they’re probably put on the back burner till June.
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In this short thread about SCOTX’s 2023–24 term (maybe my last), I want to provide some numbers on the Court’s important per curiam docket. I’ll end with just a few interesting things I’ve noticed in tracking the Court’s opinions this past year.
(PFRs = white; mandamus = blue.)
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It looks like I counted a little to soon. EAY files an opinion concurring in the denial of mandamus today, raising his separate opinion count for this term to 15, and his total to 21. I'll be sure to update as needed until August 31.
txcourts.gov/media/1458861/…
Daniel Rankin@DanielRankin
The numbers for separate opinions (concurring or dissenting), by contrast, varied widely. Counting both merits and non-merits cases: —NLH (1) —DHL (4) —JSB (3) —JPD (3) —JDB (7) —BB (8) —JNB (2) —EAY (14)
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A smart friend reminded me yesterday that several cases from this past SCOTX term were scheduled for oral argument but were ultimately dismissed/settled. That is the likely explanation for some of the small discrepancies in the majority opinion count for each justice.
Daniel Rankin@DanielRankin
Let's talk about the justices. The majority opinions were divvied up pretty evenly (not counting consolidated cases): —NLH (7) —DHL (6) —JSB (7) —JPD (6) —JDB (8) —BB (7) —JNB (8) —EAY (6)
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That's all I have tonight.
As always, if anyone sees any omissions or miscalculations, please let me know.
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In my last thread, I briefly touched on how the courts of appeals fared during the Texas Supreme Court’s 2023–24 term. In this one, I’m going to dive a little deeper into the numbers and break them down by each court.
Daniel Rankin@DanielRankin
How did the lower courts generally fare this term? In the 105 merits cases, there were: —60 reversals —17 affirmances —5 mandamus petitions denied —9 mandamus petitions granted The rest were vacaturs and answers to certified questions.
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