What Areas of Law Does the California Supreme Court Draw Its Civil Docket From (2010-2012)?

By Kirk Jenkins on August 11, 2016

Posted in Areas of Law, The Court of Appeal, The Petition for Review

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For the past several weeks, we’ve been reviewing the areas of law which the California Supreme Court has drawn its civil and criminal dockets from during the years 2000 to 2015. This week, we address the civil docket between 2010 and 2015.

For 2010, employment was far in front of every other area, contributing nine cases, or 20.93% of the caseload. Tort and government and administrative law produced only four cases each, but were nevertheless second most frequent at 9.3% of the docket apiece. The Court decided three cases each – 6.98% of the civil docket – in constitutional law, civil procedure, insurance, arbitration, contract and environmental law. Commercial law contributed 4.65% of the docket, and the Court decided one case each in construction, domestic relations, consumer law, tax, wills and estates and election law.

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The docket reshuffled in 2011, with civil procedure accounting for 20.59% of the cases. Tort was next at 17.65%, followed by employment law, which produced four cases, or 11.76% of the docket. Constitutional law and government and administrative law were next, with each accounting for three cases, or 8.82% of the docket. Environmental and consumer law each produced 5.88% of the civil docket. The rest of the caseload was widely scattered, with insurance, workers compensation, arbitration, contract law, tax law, property and secured transactions each contributing one case.

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The docket shifted again in 2012, with tort law accounting for 23.08% of the civil docket. Employment law was back up in 2012, this time accounting for 19.23% of the cases. Civil procedure and government and administrative law were next, each producing 11.54% of the caseload. Environmental law accounted for 7.69% of the cases, and seven different areas – insurance, consumer law, arbitration, contract law, tax law, wills and estates and election law – each contributing 3.85% of the docket.

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