Voting Patterns in 2011 on the Supreme Court of Canada

In the most recent issue of The Lawyers Weekly, Cristin Schmitz examines the voting patterns and the written output of the justices of the Supreme Court of Canada in 2011 [some of the tables on the free web version of the paper are unavailable].

Overall, the analysis shows that Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote the most:

"The examination of the Supreme Court’s voting patterns and written output in 2011 reveals that the nine judges cranked out 64 judgments, but spoke with one voice in only 36 of them. In the other 28 cases, there were dissents or concurrences diverging from the majority’s reasoning."

"This means the court issued unanimous reasons in just 56 per cent of its judgments in 2011. That compares with 67 per cent in 2010."

(...)

"Although the chief justice has laboured at the court for nearly 23 years (11 years as top judge), she authored or co-wrote more unanimous and majority opinions than any of her colleagues in 2011, even taking into account that three of her judgments were brief oral rulings from the Bench. "

"The 68-year-old judge issued 12 unanimous and majority opinions in 2011 — ​including the blockbuster Insite ruling — ​and did so despite juggling administrative, representational, and other duties, including chairing the Canadian Judicial Council, the Canada Council and the National Judicial Institute."