Yesterday, we looked at the year-by-year data in civil cases, dividing total amicus briefs up by the side supported – petitioner, respondent, and neither side/can't determine. We discovered that three quarters of the time between 1994 and 2005, the petitioner averaged more amicus briefs than the respondent. So what about the second half of the period, between 2006 and 2016?
The same, only more so – in each of the past eleven years, petitioners have averaged more amicus briefs than respondents. We report the data in Table 208 below. In 2006, petitioners averaged 1.79 briefs to 1.4 supporting respondents. The following year, petitioners were down a bit, averaging 1.71 briefs, while respondents averaged 1.58 briefs. For 2008, petitioners and respondents were both up significantly, with petitioners averaging 2.64 briefs and respondents 2.28.
Petitioners' briefs stayed close to that same level until 2015. For 2009, petitioners averaged 2.77 briefs to 1.73 for respondents. In 2010, petitioners averaged 2.24 extra briefs, to 1.31 for respondents. In 2011, petitioners were flat – again averaging 2.24 briefs. Respondents averaged 1.48 amicus briefs. In 2012, petitioners were up to 2.96 extra briefs, their highest level of the period. Respondents averaged 2 amicus briefs per civil case. In 2013, petitioners averaged 2.28 amicus briefs, but respondents were down too, to 1.69. For 2014, petitioners were up to 2.78 briefs per case, and respondents averaged 2.04. For 2015, both sides were down – petitioners averaged 1.81 amicus briefs, while respondents averaged 1.69. Last year, petitioners averaged 2 amicus briefs per civil case. Respondents averaged 1.89.
Join us back here next week as we track the data on amicus briefs in criminal cases.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Greg Gjerdingen (no changes).
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