Partisan diversity on a court makes dissenting opinions more frequent

Evidence

When cases merely resolve disputes between the contending parties and have no broader legal significance, some appellate courts do not issue opinions but merely announce their decisions. When they are published, most appellate court opinions are shorter than those authored by Supreme Court justices. Judges on other appellate courts also tend to file fewer concurring or dissenting opinions. On some courts, dissent is rare, perhaps because of a tradition of unanimity, a homogeneous group of judges, or the routine character of the cases they decide. But when judges belong to different political parties, dissent may be more frequent, particularly in cases with important policy implications. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1599

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the course’s theme of judges as political actors whose party affiliation shapes decision behavior. — connects to: Opinion assignment shifts to the senior majority justice when the chief justice dissents. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1567; Collegial courts make decisions through group conference and majority-coalition opinion assignment — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1597; State supreme courts vary widely in how readily judges dissent — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 400 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• State supreme courts vary widely in how readily judges dissent #expands (1.00) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 400
• Judicial votes systematically divide along liberal and conservative lines #expands (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2579
• Dissents on multimember courts cannot be explained by legal factors alone #complicates (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2561
• Diversifying the judiciary can worsen in-group bias against defendants #complicates (0.85)
• Controversial rulings shift debates rather than settle them #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3363
• Diversity improves deliberations partly by making White jurors work harder #complicates (0.80)
• Diverse juries produce fewer but more thoughtful juror responses #complicates (0.75)