For the past two weeks, we’ve been reviewing the government’s winning percentage as appellant in civil appeals at the California Supreme Court, year by year and by area of law.  Today, we complete our survey, looking at the years 2013 through 2016.

Government appeals were not only a bit less common during these years than in the data we reviewed yesterday for the years 2006 through 2012 – the government’s winning percentage was down a bit.  In 2013, the Court decided only two civil cases in which a governmental entity was the appellant, and the government lost them both – one in government and administrative law and one in tax law.  The government turned it around in 2014, winning its one case in civil procedure and an environmental law case.  In 2015, governmental entities won single cases in government and administrative law and tax law, but lost an environmental law case.  In 2016, governmental entities won one election law case and an environmental law case and lost a single employment law case, but won five of their six cases involving government and administrative law, for a winning percentage of 83.33%.

With the year rapidly nearing its end, let’s close with a quick advance look at the data so far for 2017.  Year to date, government appellants have won five of seven civil cases.  The government has won both its cases involving government and administrative law, plus single cases in environmental law, insurance law and civil procedure.  Governmental entities have lost one case each in constitutional law and tax law.

Join us back here next Thursday as we turn our attention to a new issue in our ongoing study of the California Supreme Court.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Kitty Terwolbeck (no changes).