When the Chief Justice joins an affirmance in criminal cases, she averages 3.49 questions to appellants and 1.53 questions to respondents. When she joins the majority in a reversal, she averages 3.22 questions to respondents, 2.68 to appellants. When she joins the majority in a split decision, she averages 4.23 questions to appellants, 1.55 to respondents.
When the Chief Justice dissents from a criminal affirmance, she averages 5 questions to appellants, 2 to respondents. When the Chief Justice dissents from a criminal reversal, she averages 11 questions to appellants, 2.67 to respondents.
When the majority votes to affirm but the Chief Justice votes for a split decision, she averages 4.5 questions to appellants, 1 to respondents. When the majority votes for a split decision but the Chief Justice votes to affirm, she averages 6.5 questions to appellants and 1 to respondents.
Join us back here next week as we continue our review of the Justices’ oral argument records.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Scott Gustin (no changes).