This week, we begin a dual project on the Illinois Supreme Court Review and the California Supreme Court Review – comparing the two states’ experience with automatic appeals of death penalty verdicts.
Illinois has had a tumultuous recent history with death penalty verdicts. Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in 1999, citing concern
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.
This week, we wrap up our analysis of reversal rates by area of law and the party prevailing below with a look at the criminal docket between 2010 and 2015.
In Table 319 below, we report the percentage share of the criminal docket made up by each of the areas of law on which the
For the past few weeks, we’ve been taking a close look at the reversal rates before the Illinois Supreme Court, dividing the data by areas of law and whether the defendant or plaintiff prevailed in the lower court. Today, we conclude our review of the civil docket by asking how reversal rates have differed, area
For the past several weeks, we’ve been taking a close look at reversal rates at the Illinois Supreme Court, analyzing two questions: (1) has the Court reviewed more defendant wins or plaintiff wins from the Appellate Court in each area of law; and (2) do the Court’s reversal rates differ significantly depending on the area
Yesterday, we took a look at the criminal docket at the Illinois Supreme Court between 2005 and 2009 – specifically, the fraction of the Court’s caseload, one area of the law at a time, which consisted of defendants prevailing below, versus government wins which the Court decided to review. Today, we address the follow-up question
Last week, we continued our close look at the Illinois Supreme Court’s reversal rates, divided by the area of law and the prevailing party below, with a look at the civil docket between 2005 and 2009. Today, we continue our analysis of that period with a look at the criminal, quasi-criminal, juvenile and disciplinary docket.
Yesterday, we began our analysis of the Illinois Supreme Court’s civil docket during the second five years of our period of study, 2005-2009. Today, we continue that study by addressing whether the Court tended to reverse either pro-defendant or pro-plaintiff decisions at a higher rate in any particular area of the law during those years.
Over the past two weeks, we’ve been taking a close look at reversal rates on the Illinois Supreme Court’s civil and criminal dockets, divided by area of the law. Today, we begin looking at the years 2005-2009.
Tort was slightly down during these years, comprising 22.62% of the civil docket. Civil procedure was still in