I have done the number crunching for Texas Supreme Court cause disposition for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2023, and ending December 31, 2023. The broader statistics are set out below. I will provide additional numbers and calculations in the coming weeks.
- During the 2023 calendar year, the Texas Supreme Court disposed of 100 causes, consisting of 86 causes taken on petition for review, 11 original mandamus proceedings, and 3 certified questions. One hundred causes is slightly higher than the average.
- Twenty-nine of the causes were disposed of by per curiam (unsigned) opinions. In 2022, the court issued 27 per curiam opinions. In 2021, the court issued 20 per curiam opinions.
- Twelve of the per curiam opinions disposed of petitions for review. Seven of the per curiam opinions disposed of petitions for writ of mandamus.
- The number of opinions addressing certified questions is down from last year's 6 opinions. To a large extent, this number is driven by how frequently the Fifth Circuit certifies a question to the Texas Supreme Court.
- The reversal rate for causes taken on petitions for review is down from last year's 86%. The reversal rate of 76% for 2023 is more in line with the average reversal rate.
- Excluding per curiam opinions, 46 of the court's opinions were unanimous.
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