Most court cases are resolved mechanically by settled law

Evidence

Is the deductive model an accurate depiction of how judges decide cases? The answer is both yes and no. The more settled the legal rule, the more likely it is that judicial decision making will resemble the deductive model. In many cases, judges can resolve the dispute straightforwardly on the basis of settled law. Indeed, Justice Benjamin Cardozo estimated that 90 percent of the cases that come before courts are “predestined” in that they could only be decided in one way. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1254

Categorization

• CANDY: Cardozo’s ‘90 percent predestined’ estimate is a light, quotable figure about how routine most judging is.
• XREF: connects to: Judges create law when forced to resolve statutory ambiguity. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 187; Deductive reasoning cannot explain novel cases, competing rules, or legal change — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1256; A third of Supreme Court cases are decided unanimously — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1255 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Ninety percent of general-court cases involve settled law or settled application #corroborates (0.95) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1302