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Is the increase in SCOTUS summary dispositions a positive development?

By Douglas A. Berman

This piece from Tony Mauro via law.com, which is headlined "Summary rulings spike at the high court," reviews the affinity of the Roberts' Court for summary decisions.  Here are excerpts: The Court seems to be putting more and more energy into a different kind of widget: namely, summary decisions in cases that have not been argued or fully briefed.  It's a trend may alter Supreme Court practice. The Court issued 12 summary, unsigned rulings this term, more than any term in at least a decade, according to a study by Texas Solicitor General James Ho, a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas and a close student of the Court. The uptick in these rulings began when Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. became chief justice in 2005, and could represent a quiet and relatively painless effort to bulk up the docket without lengthy and expensive briefing and argument...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 05, 2010 (boomark / email).