One of the most noteworthy features of the decisions filed this term by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is the unprecedented percentage of 4-3 outcomes.  Thirteen times already the justices have split 4-3, accounting for nearly half (46%) of the 28 cases decided as of June 6—by far the largest proportion of 4-3 decisions in the 73 years covered by SCOWstats.  The previous high, 37%, came just the year before—itself a substantial increase over the entry for any of the other years in Table 1.

Meanwhile, 6-1 and 5-2 decisions have become extremely rare—jointly amounting to only 11% of all decisions to date.  Table 1, which surveys the past two decades, reveals just how unusual these developments are—both the swelling percentage of 4-3 decisions and the evaporating total of cases decided by 6-1 or 5-2 margins.[Continue Reading…]

Three of the league’s four teams gained points from this week’s pair of decisions.  The Waivers padded their lead with 12 points—10 from von Briesen & Roper for a brief, oral argument, and favorable outcome in Colectivo Coffee Roasters, Inc. v. Society Insurance and one each from Boardman & Clark and Quarles & Brady for amicus briefs in the same case.

The Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office did nearly as well, collecting 10 points for a brief, oral argument, and favorable outcome in State v. Scott W. Forrett, which moved them ahead of the idle Affirmed into third place—though not yet within striking distance of the Writs, who picked up a point from Michael Best & Friederich for an amicus brief in Colectivo Coffee.

Click here for the complete standings.

The Waivers gained five points this week from a brief and oral argument by Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin, & Brown in State v. Theophilous Ruffin, thereby padding their lead over the second-place Writs.

Click here for the complete standings.

This week’s lone decision did not provide points for any of the teams–hence, no change in the standings.

With the arrival of spring, it’s time for SCOWstat’s annual estimate of the number of decisions that the court will have filed once the books close in late July.  Information now in hand should allow us to predict the actual total almost exactly.[Continue Reading…]

The Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office collected seven points this week (for a brief, oral argument, and partially favorable outcome in State v. Joseph G. Green), moving them just two points behind the third-place Affirmed.

Click here for the complete, updated standings.

These tables are derived from information contained in 221 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1948, and August 31, 1949.  The total of 221 decisions does not include various orders pertaining to petitions, motions, applications, and disciplinary matters involving lawyers and judges. 

Also excluded are Carley v. Jewett and Halvorson v. Connors because the justices split 3-3 in these two cases. 

In Ainsworth v. Berg the court found its original mandate (November 16, 1948) to be erroneous and issued a new full-length decision (February 15, 1949).  Both decisions are counted here.

After deciding In re Szperka’s Will, the justices granted a motion for rehearing and revoked their previous mandate, replacing it with a one-sentence ruling.  I have counted this case only once, though one could argue that it should be counted twice.

Kaestner v. Milwaukee Auto. Ins. Co. (254 Wis. 12); Robson v. Milwaukee Auto. Ins. Co. (254 Wis. 18); and Kaestner v. Milwaukee Auto. Ins. Co. (254 Wis. 17) were, in effect, consolidated—the latter two said to be ruled by the decision in the first.  Thus, I have counted the trio as a single case.

Justice Grover Broadfoot began serving in mid-November 1948.  His predecessor, Justice Elmer Barlow, died in June 1948.  This left the court with only six justices for cases decided from September until after Justice Broadfoot’s arrival.  He is listed as a participant in decisions beginning with those filed on December 15, 1948.

The tables are available as a complete set and by individual topic in 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

This week’s lone decision did not yield points for any of the teams–hence, no change in the standings.

No decisions were filed this week–hence, no change in the standings.

With two terms completed since our last update, it’s time for another look at how the justices are handling Fourth-Amendment cases—more specifically, how many of these cases they are accepting; how sympathetically they are reacting to Fourth-Amendment arguments; and how they compare to their predecessors on the bench. [Continue Reading…]