There were no civil cases from Division Six of the First District decided by the Supreme Court in 1990 or 1993. The average votes to affirm was 6.0 in 1991, 2.86 in 1992, zero in 1994, 2 in 1995, 3.2 in 1996 and 1997, 1.33 in 1998 and 4.33 in 1999.
Average votes to affirm
This week, we’re continuing our series, drilling down on the reversal rates of the Districts and Divisions of the Appellate Court by tracking the yearly average votes to affirm each court in civil cases. Today, we review the data for Division Five of the First District, and tomorrow we’ll be looking at Division Six.
Division
Division 4’s average votes to affirm were in majority territory in three years in the 1990s: 1992, when the average was 4.43, 1995, when it was 4.5, and 1997, when it was 5.2. In 1990, average votes to affirm was 3.57. It fell to 2 in 1991 and 0.4 in 1993, then rose to 3.8
This week, we’re reviewing average votes to affirm in civil cases for Division Three of the First District of the Appellate Court.
Division Three was in majority territory only one year in the 1990s: 4.2 votes, 1997. Every other year, the average has been below 4: 3 (1990 & 1991), 1.83 (1992), 3.5 (1993), 1.5
Between 1990 and 1999, Division Two of the First District has been in majority territory only twice: 5 in 1993 and 4.67 in 1997. For the rest of the decade, the “average” civil decision reviewed by the Supreme Court commanded less than a majority: 2.33 votes (1990), 2 (1991), 3.5 (1992), 2.57 (1994), 3 (1995),
A few weeks ago, we reviewed the three-year floating average reversal rates for each of the Districts and Divisions of the Appellate Court. But of course, mere reversal rates don’t tell the whole story. There’s a big difference between a court getting affirmed (or reversed) 4-3 and a 7-0 decision. So this time, we’re looking
In 1990, 13.04% of the Court’s criminal cases had one dissenter. Two dissenter cases were 5.8% and only 1.45% had three. In 1991, one dissenter cases were again the most common divided criminal decision. In 1992, 10.87% were two dissenter cases; only 5.43% had one and 1.07% had three. In 1993, 9.3% had one dissenter,
In 1990, 79.71% of the Court’s criminal cases were unanimous. That rose to 75.86% in 1991, 82.61% in 1992 and 83.72% in 1993. But then the unanimity rate fell: 61.54% (1994), 59.49% (1995), 68.52% (1996), 60.32% (1997), 69.44% (1998) and only 45.28% in 1999.
In 2000, only 27.91% of the Court’s criminal decisions were unanimous.
Last time, we reviewed the Court’s unanimity rate in civil cases. This time, we’re looking at the data for how the Court’s civil decisions were distributed between one, two and three dissenting votes.
In 1990, one and two dissenter cases were 8.99% of the civil docket apiece. Three-dissenter cases accounted for only 3.37%. Two dissenter
This week and next, we’re looking at the distribution of the Court’s civil and criminal cases – unanimous decisions and one, two and three dissenters (for these purposes, we’re defining a “dissenter” as anyone who votes against the Court’s judgment, regardless of whether he or she signs or joins a written dissent).
The unanimity percentage