Quantifying Neil Gorsuch’s stylistic proclivities

Here’s the abstract for Nina Varsava’s Elements of Judicial Style: A Quantitative Guide to Neil Gorsuch’s Opinion Writing, 93 NYU Law Review Online (Forthcoming 2018): Current discussions of judicial writing in the U.S. often feature Neil Gorsuch’s opinions. Despite the fervor around Gorsuch’s style and rhetoric, there have been no attempts to systematically quantify his stylistic proclivities. This article presents results from a quantitative study of published opinions from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals during Gorsuch’s tenure there. Through analyses of extensive stylistic data, I illuminate Gorsuch’s stylistic fingerprint, revealing, in quantitative terms, how Gorsuch has achieved the stylistic effect that has impressed many observers. I also analyze Gorsuch’s stylistic drift over the past decade, revealing trends that might give us a sense of what to expect from the Justice’s writing for the Supreme Court. I find…

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