I have completed the statistical calculations for the Texas Supreme Court’s cause disposition for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. The breakdown of broader statistics is shown below. Additional calculations and numbers will be posted in the coming weeks.

  • During the 2022 calendar year, the Court disposed of 95 causes, consisting of 73 causes taken on petition for review, 14 original mandamus proceedings, 6 certified questions from the Fifth Circuit, and 2 direct appeals. The disposition of 95 causes is in line with prior years.
  • Twenty-seven of the causes were disposed of by per curiam (unsigned) opinions. In 2021, this number was 20. In 2020, the number was 30.
  • With 14 opinions issued on petitions for writ of mandamus, the number of such original proceedings has dropped from last year’s high of 28. However, this year’s 14 opinions is still higher than the handful of original proceedings the court wrote on each year prior to 2020.
  • The number of opinions on certified questions (6) is higher than in prior years.
  • The reversal rate for causes taken on petitions for review is up. The average is a 75% reversal rate. The reversal rate in 2022 was 86%.
  • I have again looked at the number of causes with unanimous opinions. Excluding per curiam opinions, there were 53 unanimous opinions, including 5 of the mandamus opinions that were unanimous and all 6 of the certified questions that were unanimous.
Photo of Mike Northrup Mike Northrup

Mike Northrup is the chair of the appellate practice group at Cowles & Thompson, P.C. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and is a former Chair of the Appellate Law Section of the Dallas…

Mike Northrup is the chair of the appellate practice group at Cowles & Thompson, P.C. He is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and is a former Chair of the Appellate Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association. He is also a former briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas.

Practice Areas

  • Civil Appeals
  • Labor and Employment Law
  • Insurance Law
  • Municipal Law

Professional Associations

  • Dallas Bar Association, Appellate Law Section
  • Defense Research Institute
  • College of the State Bar of Texas
  • State Bar of Texas, Appellate Section
  • Texas Aggie Bar Association

Education

  • JD, Texas Tech University School of Law (1988)
  • B.S., (Political Science), Texas A&M University (1985)

Bar Admissions

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court, Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas