For the past few weeks, we’ve been studying appeals brought to the Illinois Supreme Court by governmental entities – specifically, which areas do governmental entities tend to most often appeal in civil cases? This week, we begin our look at the natural follow-up question: how often do governmental entities win those appeals?

We begin with the years 1990 through 1996. During this period, the question of just how well governmental entities fared before the Court depended considerably on what area of law the case dealt with. Governmental entities tended to do very well, year by year, in government and administrative law cases. The government’s record in constitutional law cases was more variable, and in tort law and civil procedure cases, governmental entities didn’t do too well at all.

In 1990, governmental entities won their only constitutional law case. The government won 83.33% of their government and administrative law cases, one of their two tort cases and only a third of their civil procedure cases. Governmental entities lost their single cases in tax law and employment law.

In 1991, governmental entities won their single case involving government and administrative law and their one constitutional law case. The government won one of its two tort law cases, but lost its single cases in commercial and environmental law. The next year, governmental entities won both their constitutional law cases and their single domestic relations case. The government won 85.71% of its cases in government and administrative law, one of two civil procedure cases, and 40% of its tort cases. However, governmental entities got shut out in their two employment law cases and their single workers compensation case. In 1993, governmental entities won their single workers compensation case, and went 3-1 on government and administrative law cases. However, governmental entities lost their single cases in tort law, constitutional law and domestic relations. In 1994, governmental entities won all three of their cases in government and administrative law, and two cases in environmental law. The government won three quarters of their civil procedure cases and half their constitutional law cases, but lost single cases in tort law and insurance. In 1995, governmental entities won both of their two cases in government and administrative law, and their single case in environmental law. The government won three quarters of its cases in tort law and half its constitutional law cases, but lost single cases in civil procedure and arbitration.

Government entities had a very good year at the court in 1996 – not only did they win all their cases in four different areas, for the first time in these years, they weren’t shut out anywhere. Governmental entities were the appellants that year in seven cases all told involving government and administrative law, tort, civil procedure and tax law, and won them all. Governmental entities had seven cases that year in constitutional law, and won five – a winning percentage of 71.43%.

Join us back here tomorrow as we look at governmental entities’ winning percentage in the Court’s civil docket for another seven years – 1997-2003.

Image courtesy of Flickr by LHoon (no changes).