Yesterday, we established that all things being equal, the Illinois Supreme Court has tended to ask somewhat more questions in civil cases where they reverse than in cases where they affirm. Today, we address the Court’s criminal cases from 2008 to 2016.
Our database consists of 160 affirmances in criminal cases and 188 reversals. Once
For the past few weeks, we’ve been studying the Illinois Supreme Court’s oral arguments between 2008 and 2016. This week, we address a new question: is there a correlation between the result – reversal or affirmance – and the total number of questions? Or to put it in less mathematical language, does an active bench
Yesterday, we determined that a dissent below, all things being equal, will lead to at least a slightly more active oral argument for appellees. The data for appellants is more variable – the averages are virtually identical, but the numbers vary widely from case to case. So what’s the answer for criminal cases?
Between 2008
For the past several weeks, we’ve been comparing the level of questioning at the Court in civil and criminal cases to various facts about the underlying case, searching for factors which explain how active the Court is at oral argument. This week, we turn our attention to a new possibility: is a dissent at the
Yesterday, we analyzed how the area of law impacted the total volume of questions during oral argument in civil cases between 2008 and 2016, as well as analyzing how many questions one could expect in the most common areas of law in future cases. Today, we turn our attention to the Court’s criminal docket.
The
For the past several weeks, we’ve been comparing the data on the number and sequence of the Illinois Supreme Court’s questions at oral argument to various variables, searching for possible predictors of particularly active oral arguments. This week, we’ll be asking whether the area of law involved in a case impacts the level of questioning.
Yesterday, we looked at the likelihood that the first question to each side at oral argument in civil cases came from a Justice who would write an opinion – either the majority, a special concurrence or a dissent. Today, we turn our attention to the Court’s criminal cases between 2008 and 2016.
Beginning with appellants,
Today, we turn our analysis of the Illinois Supreme Court’s oral arguments between 2008 and 2016 to a new question: how likely is it that the Justice who asks the first question in a civil case is writing an opinion?
In Table 433 below, we report the percentage of instances in civil cases in which
Yesterday, we investigated whether a more active bench at oral argument in civil cases suggested that the majority opinion would be longer. Today, we look at the same question on the criminal side of the docket by tracking the correlation between total questions and the length of the majority opinion.
We report the data for
Last week, we analyzed whether a more active bench at oral argument suggests that the case is likely to be under submission longer. We found that there was no consistent, strong correlation between total questions and days under submission, either on the civil or criminal side.
This week, we ask a different question: does a