Mike Northrup

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Last year–the calendar year from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024–was a productive year for the state’s highest civil court. By my count, the court disposed of 124 causes during the year. This is a significant increase above the court’s usual disposition rate. Some of the court’s production might be attributable to the departure…

I am late in getting these statistics from the 2023 calendar year posted, but as they say, better late than never.

Unanimity. One statistic that I have tracked in recent years is the number of unanimous opinions authored by a justice. This statistic may be an indicator that a justice works with his or…

I continue to track the statistics on the number of petitions for review granted by the Texas Supreme Court where the court of appeals wrote an “Opinion,” versus those where the court of appeals wrote a “Memorandum Opinion.” My prior years’ statistical analysis have dispelled the notion that if the court of appeals writes a…

I had the privilege and pleasure of speaking to the Dallas Bar Association Appellate Law Section on the subject of superseding judgments in Texas state courts. In connection with that continuing legal education presentation, I prepared a written paper and a powerpoint presentation.  I am making those resources publicly available here:

Supersedeas Paper 2022

Supersedeas

Parties (and their counsel) to a court of appeals’ disposition of an appeal sometimes worry that if the court disposed of the appeal by issuing a “Memorandum Opinion” instead of an “Opinion,” the chances of obtaining review by the Texas Supreme Court will be diminished.  Statistics in recent years have helped to dispel this concern. …