Alito Majority Opinion Sentences 256 Words 3042 Characters 15199 Syllables 4828 Polysyllables 581 Words per sentence 11.883 Syllables per sentence 18.859 Syllables per word 1.587 Oral Argument Oral Argument: Order of Speaking
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Opinion Stats: TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC
This is the first of a new and (hopefully) regular feature added to the blog. Link to Opinion Link to Oral Argument Thomas Majority Opinion When each Justice/Attorney Spoke
Demystifying Differences Between this SCOTUS Confirmation and Others That Preceded It
The Supreme Court has a legacy as old as this nation (the Supreme Court Historical Society provides information about the Court’s history). History has been privy to various changes including the location of the Court which has shifted from New York to Philadelphia to Washington D.C. The Justices also ceased riding the circuits which took…
The (Not So) New Face of the OSG
Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, the search for the new Solicitor General led to one of the individuals discussed as a likely candidate early on in the process. In the interim, a bevy of names were floated as possibilities including attorneys Chuck Cooper, George Conway, and Miguel Estrada. But as George Conway’s name faded…
Evaluating Speculation that The Ninth Circuit is the Lower Court SCOTUS Overturns the Most
Recently lots of hubbub was made of the Ninth Circuit’s decision to uphold a lower court’s order blocking the Trump Administration from enforcing its executive order on immigration including President Trump’s immediate Twitter response of “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” Right-wing pundits were quick to assail the Ninth…
Scaling Judge Gorsuch’s Opinions: Hints of a Possible Centrist
Two words that are regularly thrown around when discussing the Supreme Court (and politics generally) are “liberal” and “conservative.” On this note, recently a question that has gained much traction has to do with how liberal or conservative a Justice Judge Gorsuch will be if confirmed to the Court. A large problem with these terms…
Expectations for Vote Timing on the Gorsuch Nomination
Post by Samuel Morse Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has a fairly pristine record and is himself one of the least controversial nominees to the Court in recent memory. This however will not be enough to make for a smooth confirmation. After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to act on Merrick Garland’s nomination, there…
Judge Gorsuch by the Numbers and Decisions
Speculation is abound regarding President Trump’s pick for Supreme Court nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. Questions range from: “Who is he?” and “How will he rule” to the more specific “Will he help overturn Roe v. Wade.” While answers to the last two questions are anyone’s guess, answers to the first may shed light on all…
The Justices, Gender Equity, and Oral Arguments
Below is the abstract from my new article, Echoes from a Gendered Court: Examining the Justices’ Interactions During Supreme Court Oral Arguments, co-authored by Rebecca Gill: Supreme Court oral arguments are the only publicly scheduled opportunities for the Justices and advocates to directly engage in discussions about a case. There are few rules to regulate…
SCOTUS Nomination: Three Reasons to Suspect Gorsuch and One Reason to be Skeptical
Image via Associated Press Nothing is certain except death and taxes. There is no sure bet at the moment on who Donald Trump will nominate to the Supreme Court. Perhaps news will leak prior to the 8PM EST / 5PM PST announcement of the candidate tomorrow, January 31st 2017, which was recently bumped up from Thursday…
Bringing Cases in an Unusual Term: Top Petitioners and Cert Amici
There are certain criteria that indicate or signal the importance of a Supreme Court petition to the Court –experienced SCOTUS counsel on the cert briefs, federal governmental involvement, and cert stage amicus briefs – just to name a few. Although there is no surefire way to predict whether the Court will grant cert in a…
The Supreme Court and the Next Generation of Executive Power Cases
Over the past several months an entirely new class of executive power-related concerns have percolated through the national media and have begun burgeoning in federal courts. Prior to the election of President-Elect Trump, few knew about the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution and how it could be violated. Just this morning Trump’s comments on Twitter…
empiricalscotus.com 