This week, we're taking the first steps in a more detailed analysis, one Justice at a time, of the Justices' voting records. First up is Justice Garman's record in civil cases.
From joining the Court in 2001 until the end of 2020, Justice Garman has voted in 760 civil cases. The distribution of votes reflects the downwards trend in the Court's docket: Justice Garman cast 435 votes in civil cases between 2001 and 2010, and only 325 from 2011 to 2020.
Those votes are almost evenly split between votes to affirm and reverse - 305 votes to affirm, 304 to reverse. Curiously, the data shows clear time trends; between 2001 and the end of 2008, Justice Garman voted to affirm in 33 more cases than to reverse. From 2009 through 2020, that trend flipped, with votes to reverse predominating. Justice Garman has cast split votes - affirm in part and reverse/modify/vacate in part - in 106 civil cases. The rest of her votes are scattered - 19 votes to deny, 17 to vacate, 1 to grant and 8 "other" - predominantly certified questions from the Seventh Circuit. The yearly data is reported in Table 1703.
Join us back here next time as we begin our review of the voting record of Justice Mary Jane Theis.
Image courtesy of Pixabay by bk_advtravlr (no changes).
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