>Yesterday, we asked whether we can infer anything about Justice Kilbride's vote and whether he's writing an opinion, based on the pattern of his questions in oral argument. Today, we ask a slightly different question – can we infer anything from whether or not Justice Kilbride asks the first question in a civil case?
Justice Kilbride has asked the first question when he's in the majority of an affirmance 10.42% of the time for appellants, but only 3.13% of time for appellees. Writing the majority opinion has had no predictable impact. When writing the majority, Justice Kilbride has asked the first question of both appellants and appellees in 7.69% of cases. In cases where he hasn't written an opinion, Justice Kilbride has asked the first question of appellants in 10.84% of cases, and the first question of appellees in 2.41% of cases.
Where Justice Kilbride has been with the majority of a reversal, he has asked the first question of appellants in 10.42% of cases, and of appellees in 8.33% of cases. Justice Kilbride has written majority opinion in sixteen such cases, averaging first questions in 18.75% of cases, both for appellants and appellees. When Justice Kilbride hasn't written, he's asked the first question of appellants in 9.52% of cases, and has asked the first question of appellees in 7.14% of cases.
We report the data in Table 480 for Justice Kilbride's asking the first question when he's voting in the minority of a civil case.
The bottom line is when Justice Kilbride is in the minority of a civil case, he very seldom asks the first question of either side. When voting in the minority of an affirmance, he asks the first question of appellants in 6.67% of cases, but he's never asked the first question of an appellee. He's written dissents from affirmances in nine cases, but has never led off the questioning in any of those cases. In cases where he hasn't written an opinion, he asks the first question of appellants in 16.67% of cases, but has never led off the questioning of appellees.
Justice Kilbride has been in the minority of a civil reversal in 22 cases. He's written a dissent in 15 of those cases. Overall, he asks the first question of appellants in 6.67% of cases where he's in the minority of an affirmance. He's never asked the first question of an appellee, or of either side in a dissent. When not writing an opinion, he's asked the first question of appellants 16.67% of the time when in the minority of an affirmance, and has never asked the first question of appellees.
When Justice Kilbride is in the minority of a reversal, he asks the first question of appellants in 4.45% of cases, and of appellees in 9.09% of cases. When he's writing a dissent, he asks the first question of appellants in 6.67% of cases, and of appellees in 13.33% of cases.
Join us back here next Tuesday as we turn our attention to Justice Kilbride's performance in criminal cases.
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