Tom Goldstein and SCOTUS Blog put together their end-of-the-term memorandum and stat pack, which you can find here and here.
A couple points about the 2010 Term statistics. Although every year the Court assails the Ninth Circuit, this Term really was THE Term of rebuke for the Ninth Circuit. The Court normally takes a lot of Ninth Circuit cases to reverse but this year the Court basically granted 1 out of every 3 cert. petitions from that circuit. Moreover, the Court didn’t just reverse; they outright chastised, especially Justice Kennedy’s opinion in Harrington v. Richter, No. 09-587.
The Court’s summary reversal powers were used sparingly this year compared to the large output of summary dispositions last Term, where the Court used its broad discretion to summarily reverse in a number of criminal cases. The possibility of that trend would appear to be short lived.
The Court split 5 to 4 in 20% of the merit’s docket this Term. Expect that number to go up–way up–next Term as the Court already has granted several habeas corpus cases that generally split 5 to 4. The Court also has taken several other cases that usually divide along ideological lines with Justice Kennedy being the deciding vote. Those cases include issues involving Miranda, the Confrontation Clause, government official immunity, qualified immunity and the Fourth Amendment. And that is just the tip–there is every reason to believe that next Term the Court will take up huge cases involving affirmative action, the Establishment Clause, Obamacare, and campaign finance reform.
Lastly, it is–and will be for some time–Justice Kennedy’s Court.