Judge-level disparity

Seventh Circuit · 2020–2025 · 1,591 decisions

Decision relief

11.3%

156 of 1,380 known outcomes

Routine3.8%
Doctrine19.8%
Counts & definition

Any reversal, vacatur, remand, or comparable appellate relief. Original v14 classifications.

All decisions: 156 relief / 1,380 known; 21 unknown, excluded from the rate; 1,401 total decisions.

Routine: 28 relief / 732 known; 17 unknown, excluded from the rate; 749 total decisions.

Doctrine: 128 relief / 648 known; 4 unknown, excluded from the rate; 652 total decisions.

Sentence relief

12.2%

91 of 748 known outcomes

Routine3.6%
Doctrine21.4%
Counts & definition

Relief tied specifically to the sentence or further sentencing proceedings. Original v14 classifications.

All decisions: 91 relief / 748 known; 653 unknown, excluded from the rate; 1,401 total decisions.

Routine: 14 relief / 388 known; 361 unknown, excluded from the rate; 749 total decisions.

Doctrine: 77 relief / 360 known; 292 unknown, excluded from the rate; 652 total decisions.

Judge comparisons

Decision relief · 1,375 decisions

Open circles: before case-mix adjustment. Filled circles: after. Both use the same publication mix.

0.0%7.5%15.0%22.5%30.0%Wood11.3%Kanne11.3%Lee11.3%Pryor11.3%Jackson-Akiwumi11.3%Rovner11.3%St. Eve11.3%Easterbrook11.2%Kolar11.2%Sykes11.2%Kirsch11.2%Brennan11.2%Hamilton11.2%Scudder11.2%Barrett11.3%Bauer11.3%Flaum11.3%Maldonado11.3%Manion11.3%Ripple11.2%

Observed outcomes & model estimates

Decision relief · 1,375 decisions
ObservedModel estimateLine: 95% predictive interval
All decisions1,375 decisions11.2% / 11.3%
Routine728 decisions3.4% / 3.6%
Doctrine647 decisions19.8% / 20.0%
Dispersion comparison
TrackDispersion ratiop value
All decisions2.84< 0.001
Routine1.230.212
Doctrine1.350.172

How the comparison is made

  1. Appellate decisionsSeventh Circuit, 2020–2025
  2. Extracted factsOutcomes, issues & case characteristics
  3. Two publication tracksRoutine & Doctrine
  4. Case-mix adjustmentShared publication mix
  5. Judge comparisonsCases associated with each panel member
Analysis details

Original thesis v14 analysis. Judge comparisons use decision relief, not sentence relief: 1,375 decisions and 4,157 panel-associated rows. The relief summaries above use 1,401 tracked decisions.

Routine / nonprecedential weight: 52.9%. Doctrine / precedential weight: 47.1%. The displayed order is retained from the supplied snapshot. These are panel-associated outcomes, not individual votes.

The underlying track estimates are the frozen thesis decision-relief case-mix-standardized panel model. No sentence-relief judge ordering is available in this pilot. Composite intervals and rank bands are pilot approximations derived from the exported track-specific 95% intervals, not refitted posterior chains.

Case-review classifications have not changed these analytical results.

Relief requires a material change in the party’s legal position. Clerical corrections, duplicate orders, corrected captions, and non-substantive judgment modifications are not decision relief or sentence relief.