Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has participated in 36 tort cases since beginning her tenure, voting for defendants in 16 cases and for plaintiffs in 20 cases. Between 2011 and 2015, the Chief Justice voted for defendants in nine of twenty cases. In 2016, the Chief Justice voted for tort defendants in only one of seven cases. From 2017 to 2019, she voted for defendants in six of nine cases.

Between 2011 and 2015, the Chief Justice voted to affirm only two tort cases won by defendants at the Court of Appeal while voted to reverse six times. Since 2016, the Chief Justice has voted to affirm in four and nine defendants’ wins.

The Chief Justice has voted to reverse in 10 of 19 tort cases lost by defendants at the Court of Appeal. Between 2011 and 2015, she voted to reverse in 7 of 12 defense losses. Since 2016, she has voted to reverse three of seven tort defendants’ losses.

Join us back here tomorrow as we continue our analysis of the Justices’ individual voting records in tort cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Becky Matsubara (no changes).

Between 2006 and 2019, Justice Corrigan has participated in 64 tort cases. She has voted for tort defendants’ position in 35 cases and has supported defendants 29 times. Between 2006 and 2010, Justice Corrigan voted for tort defendants in 19 of 28 cases. Between 2011 and 2016, Justice Corrigan voted for defendants’ position only 10 times, supporting plaintiffs in 17 cases. Since 2017, she has voted for defendants’ side in six of nine cases.

Between 2006 and 2019, Justice Corrigan participated in 30 cases won by tort defendants below. She has voted to affirm defendants’ wins 16 times and for plaintiffs in 14 cases. Between 2006 and 2010, Justice Corrigan voted to affirm 10 of 13 defendants’ wins. Since 2011, she has voted to affirm in only six of seventeen cases won by defendants below.

 

Between 2006 and 2019, Justice Corrigan voted to reverse tort decisions lost by defendants below 19 times, voting to affirm 15 times. Between 2006 and 2010, Justice Corrigan voted to reverse in nine of fifteen cases lost by tort defendants below. From 2011 to 2019, she has voted to reverse ten decisions lost by tort defendants while voting to affirm nine times.

Join us back here next Thursday as we continue our review of the individual Justices’ voting records in tort cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Gregory Smith (no changes).

This week, we’re beginning our review of the Justices’ individual voting records in tort cases, beginning with senior Associate Justice Ming Chin.

Through the end of 2019, Justice Chin has participated in 149 tort cases. He has voted for the defendants’ position 84 times and has voted for tort plaintiffs 65 times. Between 1997 and 2004, Justice Chin voted for tort defendants 46 times and for plaintiffs in 32 cases. Between 2005 and 2008, Justice Chin split his votes almost evenly – 14 for defendants, 12 for plaintiffs. From 2009 to 2012, he voted for tort defendants in 15 of 22 cases, but since that time, he has shifted towards plaintiffs – 9 votes for defendants, 14 for plaintiffs.

In the next Table, we review Justice Chin’s votes with respect to decisions won by the defendant at the Court of Appeal. Across his entire tenure, Justice Chin has voted to affirm defendants’ Court of Appeal wins 39 times and voted to reverse in 28 cases. Between 1997 and 2000, he voted to affirm 11 tort decisions won by the defendant below and voted to reverse 7 times. Between 2001 and 2006, he voted to affirm in 12 of 20 cases involving defendants’ wins from the Court of Appeal. In the following six years, he voted to affirm in 10 of 17 cases. From 2013 through last year, Justice Chin split his votes evenly with respect to decisions won below by defendants – six to affirm, six to reverse.

Finally, we review Justice Chin’s votes in tort cases lost by the defendants below. Through last year, Justice Chin voted to reverse in 45 cases lost by tort defendants at the Court of Appeal and voted to affirm 35 times. From 1997 to 2000, he voted to reverse in 15 of 23 defendants’ losses. From 2001 to 2006, he voted to reverse 12 times and to affirm tort defendants’ losses 12 times. Between 2007 and 2012, Justice Chin voted to reverse in 15 of 22 cases lost by tort defendants below. Since 2013, he has voted to reverse only three of eleven tort decisions lost by the defendants at the Court of Appeal.

In our next post, we’ll address Justice Corrigan’s voting record in tort cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Gail Frederick (no changes).

As the philosophical composition of the Court has shifted in recent years, tort defendants have seen their won-loss record fall. From 2010 to 2019, defendants have won 18 cases while losing 22. Defendants won only three of fifteen cases from 2013 through 2016 and five of nine from 2017 to 2019.

During the decade, tort defendants have successfully defended Court of Appeal wins in only eight of twenty cases. From 2011 to 2016, defendants won only two of ten cases which they had won below. Since 2017, defendants have won only four of seven.

Interestingly, in terms of defendants’ winning percentage since 2010, they have fared a little better attacking Court of Appeal decisions they lost than defending their wins. For the decade, defendants have split decisions in taking their losses to the Court – winning ten and losing ten. In 2011 and 2012, defendants won seven of eight such cases, but in the years since, they have won only two of eleven.

Join us back here next Thursday as we begin our look at the individual Justices’ voting records in tort cases.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by Skeeze (no changes).

Between 2000 and 2009, tort defendants continued to fare well before the Supreme Court, winning 44 cases while losing 32. Defendants were 9-5 in 2002, 6-2 in 2003 and 8-4 in 2007. On the other hand, defendants won only one out of seven decisions in 2005.

Tort defendants who prevailed at the Court of Appeal continued to have good success in preserving those wins, winning 21 cases while losing 12 during the decade. Defendants won five of seven cases in 2002 and four of five in 2007. Defendants were at or close to .500 for most of the rest of decade.

For the decade, tort defendants won 23 cases which they had previously lost at the Court of Appeal, losing 20. There were only a few lopsided years in the decade; defendants won four of five in 2003, lost all four cases in 2005 and won eight of fourteen from 2007 to 2009.

Join us back here tomorrow as we address the data for the years 2010 to 2019.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by Skeeze (no changes).

Today and next week, we’re reviewing the Court’s year by year record in tort cases – what’s the defendants’ won-loss record, how often were tort defendant wins from the Court of Appeal affirmed and losses reversed. In Table 1255, we report insurers’ yearly won-loss record from 1990 to 1999. What’s evident from the data is that tort defendants were doing quite well from 1990 to 1993, but for the rest of the decade, the numbers corrected noticeably. From 1990 to 1993, defendants won 20, losing only 10. Strike out their 1-6 won-loss record in 1991 and those numbers are even more lopsided (defendants were 4-0 in 1990 and 9-1 in 1993). But from 1994 to 1999, tort defendants won 35 cases while losing 28. So what this means for the decade as a whole is that defendants won 55 cases, losing 38 – a winning percentage of .591.

In our next table, we show the affirmances and reversals of decisions won by tort defendants at the Court of Appeal. We notice immediately that there are no lopsided years in terms of wins and losses; winning insurers were breaking even nearly every year. For the decade, insurers successfully defended 16 wins from the Court of Appeal while losing 19 of those cases.

Of course, this means that tort defendants were faring quite well during the nineties in terms of obtaining reversal in cases they lost at the Court of Appeal. Indeed, from 1992 to 1995, defendants who lost below received 20 reversals of those losses while seeing only four affirmances. From 1997 to 1999, tort defendants who lost below won 15 cases while losing 9. For the entire decade, tort defendants who lost below won 36 cases, losing only 21.

Join us back here next Tuesday as we review the overall data for tort cases from 2000 to 2019.

Image courtesy of Flickr by TPSDave (no changes).

Since she joined the Court in 2015, Justice Kruger has participated in six cases involving insurer parties, splitting her votes down the middle – three for the insurer party, three against.

Justice Kruger has participated in three cases won by the insurers at the Court of Appeal, voting to affirm one insurer win and voting to reverse twice.

Justice Kruger has participated in only one case lost by the insurer at the Court of Appeal, voting to reverse the insurer’s loss.

Justice Groban has participated in only one case involving an insurer party since joining the Court early last year, voting for the insurer’s position. That case was a certified question appeal; Justice Groban has not participated in an insurer win or loss from the Court of Appeal.

Join us back here tomorrow as we turn our attention to the Court’s tort cases.

Image courtesy of Flickr by Kokomo Cole (no changes).

So far we’ve reviewed four Justices’ voting records in civil cases with insurers as named parties. Today, we’re looking at the data for Justice Cuellar.

Like Justice Liu, Justice Cuellar has split his votes right down the middle on the six insurer cases he’s participated in – three votes for the insurer’s position, three votes against.

Justice Cuellar has voted to affirm in one case won by the insurer at the Court of Appeal and voted to reverse twice.

Justice Cuellar voted to reverse in the only civil case he’s participated in where the insurer lost at the Court of Appeal. (As I noted yesterday, the numbers in the second and third tables don’t add up to the first table numbers because of two certified question appeals from the Ninth Circuit.)

Join us back here next Thursday as we wrap up our review of the Justices’ voting records in insurer cases.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by Joe Breuer (no changes).

Today we continue our seven-part post reviewing the voting records of the individual Justices in civil cases involving insurers as named parties.

Since joining the Court in 2011, Justice Liu has participated in eight such cases. He has evenly split his votes – four votes against the insurer’s position, four votes for.

Four of these eight cases were won by the insurer below. Justice Liu voted to affirm in two of those four cases and voted to reverse in the others.

Two of the cases were lost by the insurer at the Court of Appeal, and Justice Liu voted to reverse the insurer’s loss once and to affirm once.

If you’re wondering why the numbers for cases won by the insurer below and for cases lost by insurers below don’t add up to our first data points – total votes for and against insurers – the two additional cases were certified questions from the Ninth Circuit, meaning that neither party lost “below.”

Join us back here tomorrow as we turn our attention to Justice Cuellar’s votes.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by tpsdave (no changes).

This is part three of our seven-part post reviewing the Justices’ voting records in cases involving insurer parties. Today: the Chief Justice.

The Court has decided significantly fewer insurer cases from 2011 to 2019 than it did in the previous ten years. Since joining the Court, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has voted for insurer parties in four cases while voting against insurers five times.

In Table 1245, we divide the Chief Justice’s cases by the winner below. Since 2011, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has voted to affirm in two cases won by the insurer below while voting to reverse three times.

Since 2011, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye has only participated in two cases where the insurer lost below. She has voted to reverse the insurer’s loss once and voted to affirm once.

Join us back here next Thursday as we examine two more Justices’ voting records.

Image courtesy of Pixabay by 12019 (no changes).