The chief justices' self assignment of majority opinions in salient cases

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which the chief justices on the United States Supreme Court self-assign the majority opinion in salient cases. The period covered is 1801 until the summer of 1989. I discovered that the chief justices as a group self-assigned 35% of the majority opinions in salient cases. Some chief justices, however, self-assigned at a much higher rate than others. The range extends from Marshall (89%) to Fuller (15). Two senior associate justices— Justice Brennan and the first Justice Harlan—were more advantaged in opinion assignments in salient cases than Chief Justices Rehnquist and Fuller. I also discovered that the chief justices were somewhat more likely to self-assign when the final vote was unanimous.