Years have passed since our last comparison of midwestern supreme courts, so let’s return for a look at four indicators: (1) the number of decisions filed; (2) the length of these decisions; (3) the number of separate opinions; and (4) the distribution of vote margins.  As Minnesota and Iowa once served as the starting point for these posts, we’ll begin again with them.[Continue Reading…]

Observers of the US Supreme Court have devised methods for determining which justices author the most consequential majority opinions.  For instance, cases described as unusually “salient,” “significant,” or “important” have been identified by the frequency with which they are mentioned in the New York Times and other media shortly after the decisions are released.  Recently, attorney Bill Tyroler kindly brought to my attention a different technique for assessing the importance of US Supreme Court decisions and wondered if it could be applied credibly to the justices in Madison.[Continue Reading…]

Previous posts^[1] in this series have noted an increase in the number of original-action petitions accepted by the supreme court, and today we’ll see if this trend continued over the past three terms.  Although most cases reach the justices in more leisurely fashion—passing through a circuit court and then the court of appeals before reaching the supreme court—the justices may accept a case as an original action, skipping the lower courts altogether.  Such cases serve as an indication of the court’s priorities and sense of urgency—and, particularly for those who disagree with the decisions, evidence of “judicial activism.”[Continue Reading…]

These tables are derived from information contained in 379 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1927, and August 31, 1928.  The total of 379 decisions does not include various orders pertaining to petitions, motions, and disciplinary matters involving lawyers and judges. [Continue Reading…]

These tables are derived from information contained in 385 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1928, and August 31, 1929.  The total of 385 decisions does not include various orders pertaining to petitions, motions, and disciplinary matters involving lawyers and judges. [Continue Reading…]

The season provided the closest competition in the league’s history, with all four teams separated by only six points, and two teams—the Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office and the Affirmed—finishing in a tie atop the standings. 

In addition to honoring these co-champions at its awards banquet last week, the league also recognized individual firms that led their teams in scoring: Stafford Rosenbaum topped all firms with 28 points, followed by Pines Bach with 23, and Troutman Pepper with 10.  For the Gavels, Pamela Moorshead and Colleen Marion each contributed 10 points.

The following table provides totals for every individual law firm.[Continue Reading…]

These tables are derived from information contained in 14 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions filed between September 1, 2023, and the end of the court’s term in the summer of 2024.  The total of 14 decisions omits orders pertaining to various motions, petitions, and disciplinary matters involving lawyers and judges. 

Also excluded are: (1) Memorandum Decisions and Orders from Justice Protasiewicz in Rebecca Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission and Stephen Joseph Wright v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, along with other orders in these two cases filed on October 6, 2023; (2) State v. Donte Quintell McBride and State v. Morris V. Seaton, deadlocked (3-3) per curiam decisions; and (3) Amazon Logistics, Inc. v. LIRC and Winnebago County v. D.E.W., both dismissed as improvidently granted.

The tables are available as a complete set and by individual topic according to the subsets listed below.

Four-to-Three Decisions
Decisions Arranged by Vote Split
Frequency of Justices in the Majority
Distribution of Opinion Authorship
Frequency of Agreement Between Pairs of Justices
Average Time Between Oral Argument and Opinions Authored by Each Justice
Number of Oral Arguments Presented by Individual Firms and Agencies

As it commenced the 2023-24 term, the Wisconsin Supreme Court attracted national attention.  With a new liberal majority poised to review significant controversies, observers anticipated rulings that would depart abruptly from the holdings of conservative colleagues who had long exercised the upper hand.  Their predictions came to pass—first with the court’s order in December on electoral maps, followed by decisions on such issues as ballot drop boxes and separation of powers.  In these decisions the liberal ascendancy is most visible.   However, the unprecedented hegemony of the liberals is also striking when portrayed in statistical form, the subject of today’s post.[Continue Reading…]

With the term’s last three substantive decisions now in the books, the door has opened for our annual series of posts inspecting the justices’ labors.  The term did not lack unusual and dramatic features, one of which serves as our focus today.[Continue Reading…]

Each of the three decisions filed this week provided points to fantasy-league teams—and, in the process, shook up the standings in stunning fashion.  After languishing in the cellar for several weeks, the Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office picked up 15 points (ten for a brief, oral argument, and favorable outcome in State v. R. A. M. and 5 for a brief and oral argument in State v. B. W.), thereby vaulting all the way to the top of the standings—one point clear of the Writs, who themselves gained 5 points from Pines Bach for a brief and oral argument in Nancy Kindschy v. Brian Aish.  With only nine points separating all four teams, the race has never been nearly this tight so late in any of the previous eight seasons.