Last week, we reviewed the year-by-year data since 1994 for
amicus briefs, looking at whether more amici tend to support the
petitioner or the respondent. This week, we're looking at the
Court's experience with amicus briefs in criminal cases.
The primary lesson of the data is the obvious one: amicus briefs
are far less commonplace in criminal cases than in civil cases.
Nevertheless, the relation between the sides was the same between
1994 and 2005: in every year but one, there were more amici
supporting the petitioner than supporting the respondent.
In 1994, petitioners averaged 0.51 amicus briefs to 0.39 for
respondents. That was the highest level amicus briefs reached on
each side over the following decade. In 1995, petitioners averaged
0.16 amici to 0.14 for respondents. In 1996, petitioners averaged
0.38 amicus briefs supporting them to 0.36 for respondents. In
1997, petitioners averaged slightly fewer briefs – 0.32 per
case – but respondents tailed off even
