Welcome to the first match-up of the highly-anticipated #SCOTUSbracket!
The initial game in this ever-competitive contest is the highest ranking judge in the nation against the SCOTUS bench's "newest" justice. While these two justices only have a 4-year difference in seniority on the bench, William Rehnquist's sudden departure in 2005 elevated John G. Roberts to the top of the SCOTUS ranking and the top of this bracket's seedings.
John's first decade as the chief justice of the highest court in the land has not been the conservative coercion that the GOP dreamed about. One the flip side, Elena's liberal tendencies seem to be satisfying left wingers with every opinion she authors.
But, enough about thepolitical unbiased sway that these judges have on the laws of the land. Let's get to the stats that matter and see who comes out the victor.
Courtroom Curiosity
Roberts’s courtroom curiosity has progressively diminished throughout the past several years. During oral arguments in 2011, Roberts finished as a Top 3 questioner 66% of the time and as the top questions 24% of the time. Since then his top and top 3 finishes have steadily dropped, all the way to 10% and 3% respectively in the October 2014 term.
But that’s not all. Roberts’ was once asking questions at a 20.3 per oral argument clip back in 2011. However, this has taken an drastic down tick every year since, falling to 13.8 questions per argument.
John's first decade as the chief justice of the highest court in the land has not been the conservative coercion that the GOP dreamed about. One the flip side, Elena's liberal tendencies seem to be satisfying left wingers with every opinion she authors.
But, enough about the
Courtroom Curiosity
Roberts’s courtroom curiosity has progressively diminished throughout the past several years. During oral arguments in 2011, Roberts finished as a Top 3 questioner 66% of the time and as the top questions 24% of the time. Since then his top and top 3 finishes have steadily dropped, all the way to 10% and 3% respectively in the October 2014 term.
But that’s not all. Roberts’ was once asking questions at a 20.3 per oral argument clip back in 2011. However, this has taken an drastic down tick every year since, falling to 13.8 questions per argument.
Kagan, on the other hand, has produced steady numbers in this category over the past four terms. While it is rare that she will be the top questioner (>5% of the time) or even really finish in the Top 3 (averaging 17.5 Top 3 finishes over the past four terms) among the other judges, her average questions tend to hover around 11.8 per oral argument, which tends to be on the lower end of these standings.
However, even though the Chief Justice's recent decline in oral argument questions might be a tad concerning, his questioning numbers over the past four years are still much greater than Kagan's. Therefore, despite the fall from the curious John Roberts of old, his inquisitive nature is still higher than Elena, allowing him to narrowly wrap up this category with a win.
Category Winner: John Roberts
Penning Power
When it comes to authoring opinions that the rest of the SCOTUS bretheren are willing to sign off on, the numbers for both Roberts and Kagan are extremely close.
Category Winner: John Roberts
Penning Power
When it comes to authoring opinions that the rest of the SCOTUS bretheren are willing to sign off on, the numbers for both Roberts and Kagan are extremely close.
Because unanimous majority opinion has been an emphasis for Roberts in recent years, these numbers should not be completely ignored. From the October 2011 Term to the October 2014 term, Kagan has posted 15 unanimous majority opinions. However, Roberts is not that far behind, notching 13 in the same amount of time.
While unanimous opinions are nice, just convincing the majority of your bench-mates to agree with your opinion is usually all that a justice is really looking for. Unfortunately, the difference between Kagan and Roberts in this area is also quite minuscule. Since 2011, Kagan received votes from the other justices 84.7% of the time when she writes an opinions, while the Chief tallied agreements from the other justices 84.2% of the time.
While unanimous opinions are nice, just convincing the majority of your bench-mates to agree with your opinion is usually all that a justice is really looking for. Unfortunately, the difference between Kagan and Roberts in this area is also quite minuscule. Since 2011, Kagan received votes from the other justices 84.7% of the time when she writes an opinions, while the Chief tallied agreements from the other justices 84.2% of the time.
Although the difference between these two in this category are not mind blowing, the edge definitely leans toward Kagan, however so slightly. Therefore, Kagan evens things up with this category win.
Category Winner: Elena Kagan
Humor
Over the past four terms, the laugh differential between Roberts and Kagan has been enormous. Since the October 2012 Term, Roberts has been accredited with 79 laugh tracks compared to Kagan's 43. In fact, Roberts has registered at least 9 more laughs per term than Kagan in three of last four terms.
While Kagan has been known to crack a good joke in here writings every now and then (see Cat in the Hat), these clever lines will not be enough to move the needle in her favor. Roberts secures the category and moves on to the next round with this victory.
Category Winner: John Roberts
Winner: John Roberts 2-1
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