Which SCOTUS justices get the most 'dog' opinions?
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Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. assigns a disproportionate share of “dog” opinions to less favored justices, though he is careful to give each justice about the same number of opinions each term, a law professor’s study has found.
One justice—Sonia Sotomayor—has never been assigned a major opinion by Roberts during her six terms on the court, according to the study by Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus. The Washington Post and the New York Times cover his findings, while How Appealing links to the study, published in the Harvard Law Review.
Roberts assigned 11 percent of dog opinions—those opinions that are mundane, technical and less important—to himself. Justice Stephen G. Breyer got 21 percent of those minor opinions. Also receiving more than their fair share were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg (18 percent), Sotomayor (17 percent) and Clarence Thomas (15 percent). And Justice Antonin Scalia’s dog opinions “have trended upwards over time,” going from one during Roberts’ first five years on the court to eight during Roberts’ next five years on the court, Lazarus writes.
When Roberts assigns major decisions, the greatest number—34 percent—went to himself, followed by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who got 31 percent of the major opinions; Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who got 16 percent; Justice Antonin Scalia, who got 15 percent; and Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who got 11 percent, Lazarus found.
Roberts appears reluctant to assign big decisions to the court’s most conservative and liberal members, Lazarus says. Instead, he seems to favor justices who write narrow opinions that can keep a majority, he explains. And Kennedy probably gets lots of opinions to reduce the risk of his swing vote “swinging the other way,” Lazarus writes.
Opinion assignments are made at the time of the original conference vote, by Roberts when he is in the majority and, when he is in the minority, by the most senior justice in the majority. Roberts was in the majority 86 percent of the time when he finished his 10th term in June.
See also:
ABA Journal: “John Roberts marks 10 years as chief justice by taking the long view”
