The Competition Committee had finally seen enough. Dissatisfied with efforts in previous years to provide stiffer competition for the Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office, the Committee devoted its entire winter meeting last month to a … [Continue reading]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Statistics, 1953-54
December 20, 2021 by Leave a Comment
These tables are derived from information contained in 235 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1953, and August 31, 1954. The total of 235 decisions does not include … [Continue reading]
When Allies Disagree
November 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Some time ago an acquaintance recommended that I take a look at cases in which the court’s staunchest allies failed to see eye to eye, thereby raising the question of what could have prompted them to part company on these unusual occasions. There … [Continue reading]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Statistics, 1954-55
November 2, 2021 by Leave a Comment
These tables are derived from information contained in 241 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1954, and August 31, 1955. The total of 241 decisions does not include … [Continue reading]
Text Mining at the Wisconsin Supreme Court: An Update
October 21, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Numerous researchers have used computer programs to scrutinize large volumes of text, searching for patterns or tendencies that might otherwise escape detection. One such program is Linguistic Inquiry Word Count software (LIWC), employed by scholars … [Continue reading]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Statistics, 1955-56
September 25, 2021 by Leave a Comment
These tables are derived from information contained in 226 Wisconsin Supreme Court decisions that were turned up in a Nexis Uni search for decisions filed between September 1, 1955, and August 31, 1956. The total of 226 decisions does not include … [Continue reading]
Law Firms and the Justices: An Update for 2018-19 through 2020-21
September 16, 2021 by Leave a Comment
In the spring of 2019 we examined the success rates of law firms most active in the Wisconsin Supreme Court over the previous decade (2008-09 through 2017-18), and today we’ll update that post by exploring data from the most recent three terms.[1] … [Continue reading]
Bloc Cohesion in 2020-21
August 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Judge Jill Karofsky’s electoral victory over incumbent Justice Daniel Kelly last year prompted a post speculating on the impact that this might have during the court’s 2020-21 term. More specifically, the post focused on 4-3 decisions and the … [Continue reading]
Recapping the 2020-21 Fantasy League Season
August 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Once again the Gavels of the State Public Defender’s Office ended the season atop the fantasy league standings—despite the effort of the Competition Committee to bolster the other teams by adding more law firms to their rosters for the 2020-21 … [Continue reading]
The 2020-21 Term: Some More Impressions
July 30, 2021 by Leave a Comment
In this third post assessing the justices’ activities during the now-completed 2020-21 term, we’ll take a look at four topics that attracted attention last year: (1) fractured decisions; (2) frequency of separate opinions; (3) length of decisions; … [Continue reading]
