Last week, we reviewed the data for how often each Justice of the Court voted with the majority in divided civil cases.  This time, we’re on the flipside – how often did each Justice vote with the majority in divided criminal cases?  First, we review the years 1990 to 2004.

Justice Arabian had a very high votes with majority rate for his final years on the Court – 87.5% in 1990, 100% in 1991, 1993 and 1995, 95.65% in 1992 and 95.83% in 1994.  Only in his part year of 1996, when his rate was 50%, did he decline.  Aside from a short lull from 1997 to 2000, Justice Baxter was quite high as well – 96% in 1991, 100% in 1992 and 1993, 83.33% in 1994, 90% in 1995 and 93.75% in 1996, followed by 75% in 1997 and 1998, 89.47% in 1999 and 70.59% in 200 – then 100% in 2002 and 2004, 91.3% in 2002 and 85% in 2003.

Justice Broussard’s agreement rate was typically low – 24% in 1990 and 55% in 1991.  Justice Brown’s, on the other hand, was relatively high – 88.89% in 1996, 75% in 1997 ad 1998, 63.16% in 1999, 76.47% in 2000, 80% in 2001, 73.91% in 2002, 80% in 2003 and 62.5% in 2004.  Justice Chin was quite high throughout – in the nineties four times (90.91% in 1996, 94.12% in 2000, 90% in 2001 and 91.67% in 2002), in the eighties four times (87.5% in 1997, 80% in 1998, 85% in 2003 and 87.5% in 2004 and 100% once (1999).

In 1990, Justice Eagleson voted with the majority in divided criminal cases 90% of the time.  Justice (and later Chief Justice George’s rate was quite high again – at 100% five times (1991-1993 and 1998-1999), in the nineties five times (1994-1995, 1997, 2001 and 2004), and in the eighties three times (1996, 2000, 2003).  Justice Kaufman voted with the majority 50% of the time in 1990.  Justice Kennard was in the sixties eight times (1991-1996, 2001 and 2003) and between thirty and fifty-five times (fifties in 1997, forties in 1999-2000 and 2002, and thirties in 2004).  Chief Justice Lucas was consistently high – in the nineties three times (1991, 1993 and 1995) and at 100% three times (1992, 1994 and 1996).

In Table 770, we review the data for Justices Moreno, Mosk, Panelli and Werdegar, as well as an aggregate figure for all the Court’s pro tems.  Justice Moreno voted with the majority in divided criminal cases 62.5% of the time in 2002, 75% in 2003 and 93.75% in 2004.  With only one exception (1998 – 75%), Justice Mosk’s rate was quite low – 28% in 1990, 34.62% in 1991, 21.74% in 1992, 16.13% in 1993, 37.5% in 1994, 30% in 1995, 43.75% in 1996, 25% in 1997, 26.32% in 1999, 52.94% in 2000 and 37.5% in 2001.  Justice Panelli’s voting with the majority rate was always high – 96% in 1990, 96.15% in 1991, 100% in 1992 and 1994 and 87.1% in 1993.  With only one real outlier in 1997 (62.5%), Justice Werdegar also generally agreed with divided majorities during these years.  She was in the seventies four times (1999-2001 and 2004) and in the eighties four times (1995, 1998 and 2002-2003).

The pro tem Justices were generally quite high too.  In 1990, pro tems voted with the majority in divided criminal cases 71.43% of the time.  In 1991, the rate was 100%.  The pro tems were at 85.71% in 1994, 100% in 1995, 50% in 1996 and 66.67% in 2002.

Join us here next time as we finish up our consideration of votes with the majority in divided cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Sheila Sund (no changes).