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Did Longer Majority Opinions in Civil Cases Affect the Unanimity Rate (Part 1 – 1990-1999)?

By Kirk Jenkins on January 21, 2023
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A few posts ago, I noted that analytics research has demonstrated a correlation between the length of majority opinions and the rate of unanimous opinions – shorter opinions, more unanimity; longer opinions and less unanimity.  So what happened for civil cases between 1990 and 1999?

As we noted a few posts ago, majority opinions were trending longer during this decade.  The average majority was 17.92 pages in 1990, 23.14 by 1994, and after topping out at 28.39 in 1996, still 24.9 pages in 1999.

Although the correlation was by no means smooth, unanimous opinions were indeed becoming less frequent.  In 1990, the unanimity rate was 58.97%.  The rate was still high in 1993 – 58.7%.  By 1995, it was 52.63%.  In 1996, when majority opinions spiked, only 45.16% of civil cases was unanimous.  That number went up the next year, but then fell again: 53.7% in 1998 and 46.15% in 1999.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the criminal cases.

Image: Department of the Treasury exhibits in the Palace of Machinery, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915

Image courtesy of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (Creative Commons License)

Photo of Kirk Jenkins Kirk Jenkins

Kirk Jenkins brings a wealth of experience to his appellate practice, which focuses on antitrust and constitutional law, as well as products liability, RICO, price fixing, information sharing among competitors and class certification. In addition to handling appeals, he also regularly works with…

Kirk Jenkins brings a wealth of experience to his appellate practice, which focuses on antitrust and constitutional law, as well as products liability, RICO, price fixing, information sharing among competitors and class certification. In addition to handling appeals, he also regularly works with trial teams to ensure that important issues are properly presented and preserved for appellate review.  Mr. Jenkins is a pioneer in the application of data analytics to appellate decision-making and writes two analytics blogs, the California Supreme Court Review and the Illinois Supreme Court Review, as well as regularly writing for various legal publications.

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  • Posted in:
    Appellate
  • Blog:
    California Supreme Court Review
  • Organization:
    Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
  • Article: View Original Source

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