Yesterday, we took a look at the Court’s unanimity rate in civil cases (60.18% in 1,223 cases). Today, we’re looking at the criminal docket. From 1990 to 2017, the Court decided 1,590 criminal, quasi-criminal, juvenile and disciplinary cases, with a unanimity rate ten points higher than on the civil side – 70.25%.
Just as was true in the civil docket, for the years 1990-1996, the criminal unanimity rate was below the long-term average – sometimes by a little, others by a lot. The rate was 68.75% in 1990, 61.19% in 1991, 60.34% in 1992, dropped to 38% in 1993, 39.02% in 1994, 59.18% in 1995 and 61.9% in 1996.
The yearly numbers got above the long-term average in only one of the years between 1997 and 2003: 54.55% in 1997, 55.56% in 1998, 58.33% in 1999, 69.09% in 2000, 82.76% in 2001, 64.79% in 2002 and 68.25% in 2003.
But in 2004, things changed. For 2004, the unanimity rate was 78.08%. In 2005, it was 70.49%. After a one-year dip in 2006 to 58.49%, it was above-average for the four years following: 85.25% in 2007, 87.88% in 2008, 80.33% in 2009 and 80.82% in 2010.
Yesterday, we showed that the Court has consistently been unanimous in an above-average percentage of civil cases during Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye’s tenure. With the exception of last year, that’s been true on the criminal side too: 72.55% in 2011, 79.22% in 2012, 82% in 2013, 83.64% in 2014, 77.27% in 2015, 92.31% in 2016 and two-thirds last year.
Join us back here next Thursday as we turn our attention to a new issue.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Bernard Spragg (no changes).