No. 20-512 · argued March 31, 2021
National Collegiate Athletic Association, Petitioner v. Shawne Alston, et al.
Post-argument lean
From the argument alone, before the decision
62%
chance the petitioner prevails, from how the bench divided its words
Respondent won Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Gorsuch, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Kava...
The Justices’ words, by the side they were spoken to
61%
39%
To the petitioner · 2,627 words, 73 turns46 turns, 1,705 words · to the respondent
The bench spoke 1.5× as many words to the petitioner as to the other side. Since OT2017 the side that draws more of the bench’s words has tended to lose, so this argument reads below the usual 70% petitioner win rate. Here the lean pointed the wrong way.
Each Justice’s questioning
Lean beside the vote each Justice cast
| Justice | Words to the petitioner ◂ │ ▸ to the respondent | Lean to petitioner | Voted for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts, C.J. | 64%-5 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Thomas | 54%-6 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Breyer | 52%-12 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Alito | 51%-10 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Sotomayor | 54%-5 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Kagan | 50%-10 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Gorsuch | 55%-11 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Kavanaugh | 57%-12 | Respondent ✗ | |
| Barrett | 65%-3 | Respondent ✗ |
A Justice’s lean is the chance they vote for the petitioner, from their own word split and the whole bench’s; the small figure is the change from their usual petitioner rate. Click a row to pick out that Justice in the transcript.
Listen and read
268 turns
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The Court’s recording · each line timed to the audio
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From the Court’s official transcript.
October Term 2020, lean against result
Each dot an argument; click one to open it
27 of 28
leaned 75% or more to the petitioner, and the petitioner won
0 of 0
leaned toward the respondent, and the respondent won
42 of 52
decided cases where the lean pointed the right way (always picking the petitioner: 42)
About this page. Built from the Court’s own transcript and recording.
- The lean. Backtested leave-one-Term-out on 511 decided arguments (OT2017–OT2025): 72% of outcomes called right against 70.5% for “the petitioner always wins”, with forecast error (Brier score) 0.197 against 0.209. It refines a strong base rate more than it flips calls. Each Justice’s lean: 67.5% of 4,408 votes against 63.4% for their usual rate.
- Words, not questions. Every Justice turn in an advocate’s time counts toward that advocate’s side; amicus time counts for neither. Counting turns adds nothing once words are counted, and the raw rule “more questions loses” does worse than the base rate, because petitioners argue first and have rebuttal.
- Timing. Each line is timed to the recording: speech recognition matched the Court’s audio to its transcript, and its own text is used for nothing but the clock. Click a line to hear it.
- Method and findings: docs/argument-transcripts.md.