January SCV Opinions by the Numbers
The Supreme Court of Virginia handed down a remarkable bath of opinions on Friday.
The 20 opinions included 7 dissenting opinions, which is highly unusual for a court previous notable for its consensus.
Stranger still, the 12 civil cases generated all 7 dissenting opinions (one case, Weedon v. Weedon, generated two separate dissenting opinions).
It looks like things could get a little bumpy in the near future.
Here's a quick breakdown of who did what (including cases with concurrences as split cases):
Chief Justice Kinser
- Votes Cast: 20
- In Majority: 20
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: 7/7
- Opinions Written: 2
Justice Lemons
- Votes Cast: 19
- In Majority: 18
- In Dissent: 1
- In Majority in Split Cases: 6/7
- Opinions Written: 2
Justice Goodwyn
- Votes Cast:18
- In Majority: 18
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: 6/6
- Opinions Written: 1
Justice Millette
- Votes Cast: 20
- In Majority: 19
- In Dissent: 1
- In Majority in Split Cases: 6/7
- Opinions Written: 2
Justice Mims
- Votes Cast: 17
- In Majority: 16
- In Dissent: 1
- In Majority in Split Cases: 6/7
- Opinions Written: 4 (including 1 dissent)
Justice Powell
- Votes Cast: 14
- In Majority: 12
- In Dissent: 2
- In Majority in Split Cases: 4/6
- Opinions Written: 3 (including 1 dissent)
Justice McClanahan
- Votes Cast: 14
- In Majority:
- In Dissent: 6 (including one concurrence, and counting opinions dissenting in part and concurring in part as dissents)
- In Majority in Split Cases: 1/7
- Opinions Written: 7 (including 5 dissents and 1 concurrence)
Senior Justice Carrico
- Votes Cast: 2
- In Majority: 2
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: n/a
- Opinions Written: 2
Senior Justice Russell
- Votes Cast: 4
- In Majority: 4
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: n/a
- Opinions Written: 2
Senior Justice Lacy
- Votes Cast: 6
- In Majority: 6
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: 1/1
- Opinions Written: 1
Senior Justice Koontz
- Votes Cast: 6
- In Majority: 6
- In Dissent: 0
- In Majority in Split Cases: 1/1
- Opinions Written: 2
It's dangerous to draw too many conclusions from a sample this small, but you can't ignore the number of Justice McClanahan's dissents and concurrences.
It will be interesting to see if this is just a matter of a new justice finding her voice and her place on the court, or if she will continue to use dissents and concurrences over time to stake out her own jurisprudence.
