Last week, we analyzed the pattern of Justice Thomas' questions in oral arguments in civil cases. This week, we address Justice Thomas' patterns in criminal cases.
When Justice Thomas is in the majority, he questions the losing side more heavily than the party which will lose the case. Justice Thomas has written the majority opinion in thirty of 154 affirmances. He averages 5.87 questions to appellants and 1.69 questions to appellees in affirmances. Justice Thomas has written the majority opinion in 87 of 508 criminal reversals. He averages 3.06 questions to appellants and 4.53 questions to appellees.
Writing the majority opinion impacts Justice Thomas' patterns in criminal affirmances. When writing the majority opinion, Justice Thomas averages 7.97 questions to appellants and 2.17 questions to appellees. When not writing an opinion, Justice Thomas averages 5.4 questions to appellants and 1.56 questions to appellees.
Writing the majority opinion also impacts Justice Thomas' patterns in criminal reversals. Justice Thomas averages 3.78 questions to appellants and 6.04 questions of appellees. When not writing an opinion in a reversal, Justice Thomas averages 2.9 questions to appellants and 4.46 questions to appellees.
Justice Thomas has been in the minority of criminal cases in only a scattered few criminal cases. He has voted in the minority of five affirmances and eight reversals. Justice Thomas has averaged more questions to the party he voted against than the party who lost the case when voting in the minority. When voting in the minority of affirmances, Justice Thomas has averaged 0.6 questions to appellants and 4.2 questions to appellees. When writing a dissent, Justice Thomas has averaged 1 question to appellants and 4.67 to appellees.
Justice Thomas has averaged 4.125 questions to appellants when voting in the minority of reversals, and 1.625 questions of appellees. When not writing an opinion and voting in the minority of a reversal, Justice Thomas had averaged 5.33 questions to appellants and 3.67 questions to appellees.
Join us here tomorrow as we continue our analysis of Justice Thomas' patterns in criminal cases.
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