Updated June 30, 2007
This, the second term for Chief Justice John Roberts, saw the US Supreme Court decide 68 cases after argument, the lowest number since 1990 (102 cases). The Court reversed or vacated lower court decisions in 52 of 72 cases; 21 cases were from the Ninth Circuit, considered one of the more liberal Circuits, and the Court reversed 18 of those.
The Court was also the most divided in at least 10 years: 24 of 72 cases (33%) were decided by a 5-4 margin. The percentage of fully unanimous decisions declined from 45% to 25%, also the lowest in the past 10 years.
Justice Kennedy voted with the majority in each of the 5-4 decisions. Nineteen of the 5-4 cases were decided along ideological lines. The Roberts-Scalia-Kennedy-Thomas-Alito block prevailed in 13 (54%) decisions; the Stevens-Souter-Ginsburg-Breyer block prevailed in six (25%) decisions. Only Justice Kennedy voted with the more liberal block in a 5-4 case.
US Supreme Court Decisions by Vote - 2006
In reverse chronological order, see the decisions and how each Justice voted; case name links to court decision.- US Supreme Court Decisions by Vote - 2006 - No 51-75
- US Supreme Court Decisions by Vote - 2006 - No 26-50
- US Supreme Court Decisions by Vote - 2006 - No 1-25
From Tom Head, About Guide to Civil Liberties:
Other Reading
Source: 2006 Term Opinions of the Court, End of Summary Memo (pdf)