Who Voted With Whom
Five Chief Justices, 278 pairs of justices with enough shared cases to measure, and every divided case since 1946. The blocs are real, and they are older than you would guess.
Data through the Supreme Court’s 2024 term, from the Supreme Court Database, 2025 Release 01. A divided case throughout this page means one in which at least one participating justice was recorded in dissent.
Brennan and Marshall reached the highest agreement of any pair in any Chief Justice’s era — the same side of the judgment in 93.1% of the 375 divided cases they shared under Rehnquist — and sustained 88.1% across all 2,213 divided cases of their whole overlap. Rehnquist and Douglas are the furthest apart, agreeing in 12.7% of the 371 divided cases they shared. Through the 2024 term the closest pair on the current Court is Roberts and Kavanaugh. And all of it is measured on divided cases only: 39 percent of the Court’s decisions carry no dissent at all, and counting those makes everyone look like friends.
What is being measured
Two justices agree, for this purpose, when they land on the same side of the judgment — both in the majority, or both in dissent. Every number below counts only divided cases: cases in which at least one justice dissented. That exclusion is the whole reason the matrices say anything. Unanimous decisions are 39 percent of the modern docket, and a measure that counts them puts 86 percent of all pairs above 60 — including justices who disagree about nearly everything the Court divides over.
Agreement on the outcome is not agreement on the law. A justice can join a judgment and write separately to say the majority reached it for the wrong reasons; that is scored here as agreement. Two justices can dissent from the same decision for opposite reasons and be scored the same way. Within each matrix the justices are ordered most to least liberal for that Court, which is what makes the blocs fall into the corners — but no number depends on that ordering.
The Closest
T. Marshall & Brennan
The closest pair of the modern era
- Rehnquist era, divided cases
- 93.1% of 375
- Rehnquist era, all cases
- 95.6% of 590
- Whole shared tenure, divided
- 88.1% of 2,213
After the Court reinstated capital punishment in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), Brennan and Marshall dissented from death sentences as a standing practice, each with his own recurring formula. Brennan’s ran: “Adhering to my view that the death penalty is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 227 (1976), I would grant certiorari and vacate the death sentence in this case.” Carol Steiker, who clerked for Marshall, has said she could type it from memory. The 93.1 percent above is their Rehnquist-era figure, the highest any pair reaches in any one Chief Justice's era; across the whole 2,213 divided cases of their overlap it is 88.1 percent, which is the sturdier number and still the closest sustained partnership in the modern record.
Kavanaugh & J. Roberts
The closest pair on the current Court
- Roberts era, divided cases
- 90.9% of 253
- Roberts era, all cases
- 94.7% of 433
This one has an independent check. SCOTUSblog’s own Stat Pack, built from a different source and a slightly different definition, put Roberts and Kavanaugh at 91 percent — against the 90.9% computed here — and noted the pair had aligned more often than any other in previous terms. Worth a caveat: single terms move around, and in the 2024 term alone SCOTUSblog’s highest pair was Thomas and Alito at 97 percent.
The Chief and his strategist
- Warren era, divided cases
- 88.0% of 1,185
- Warren era, all cases
- 92.2% of 1,832
Brennan is remembered less as Warren’s follower than as the tactician of the Warren Court’s jurisprudence — his Baltimore Sun obituary in 1997 called him, more than any justice, “the strategist behind Supreme Court jurisprudence.” The 88 percent here is across 1,185 divided cases, which is a very long time to agree with anyone.
Two originalists, one difference
- Rehnquist era, divided cases
- 86.2% of 718
- Rehnquist era, all cases
- 92.3% of 1,278
- Whole shared tenure, divided
- 84.1% of 1,154
The gap between them is not about the Constitution’s meaning but about what to do with precedent that got it wrong. Thomas stated his position in Gamble v. United States (2019): “When faced with a demonstrably erroneous precedent, my rule is simple: We should not follow it.” Scalia was the more willing of the two to leave a mistaken precedent standing — which is where their remaining 14 percent of divided cases tends to live.
The Furthest Apart
The widest gulf in the database
- Burger era, divided cases
- 12.7% of 371
- Burger era, all cases
- 43.2% of 570
They overlapped for less than four years — Rehnquist took his seat in January 1972, Douglas retired that November of 1975 — and in the 371 divided cases they shared they landed on the same side 47 times. Martin-Quinn scores, the standard scaling of judicial ideology and an entirely separate method, place these two at the empirical extremes of the whole modern Court. We found no account of any personal quarrel; the distance appears to be entirely a matter of law.
T. Marshall & Rehnquist
The long version of the same gulf
- Burger era, divided cases
- 21.9% of 1,472
- Burger era, all cases
- 50.5% of 2,324
- Whole shared tenure, divided
- 21.1% of 1,921
Rehnquist and Douglas is the widest pair, but it rests on a short overlap. Marshall and Rehnquist sat together for nineteen years in all — about fourteen of them under Burger, where they shared 1,472 divided cases and agreed in 21.9 percent, and the remainder under Rehnquist himself, where they agreed in 18.7 percent. That is the most durable disagreement in the modern record.
Five Courts
Each cell is the share of divided cases in which that pair landed on the same side. Justices run most to least liberal, top to bottom and left to right — ordered by their liberal-vote share within that Chief’s era, which arranges the blocs into the top-left and bottom-right corners and has no effect whatever on the numbers.
Two thresholds. A justice appears in an era after sitting on at least 150 cases under that Chief; a cell shows a number once the pair share at least 30 divided cases, and a dash until then. A dash with no shared cases at all means the two never sat together on that Court. Hovering a cell shows the counts behind its percentage; on a touchscreen, where there is no hover, every one of those counts is in the table under each matrix instead.
The Vinson Court
OT1946–OT1952 · 789 cases, 541 of them divided · 11 justices with at least 150 cases
The 51 numbers behind this matrix
| Pair | Divided cases, same side | All cases, same side |
|---|---|---|
| Vinson & Clark | 213 of 242 · 88.0% | 315 of 344 · 91.6% |
| Minton & Clark | 193 of 235 · 82.1% | 285 of 327 · 87.2% |
| Vinson & Minton | 221 of 270 · 81.9% | 325 of 374 · 86.9% |
| Burton & Clark | 200 of 246 · 81.3% | 302 of 348 · 86.8% |
| Murphy & W. Rutledge | 195 of 241 · 80.9% | 320 of 366 · 87.4% |
| Murphy & Black | 191 of 240 · 79.6% | 316 of 365 · 86.6% |
| Black & W. Rutledge | 191 of 245 · 78.0% | 318 of 372 · 85.5% |
| Reed & Clark | 189 of 244 · 77.5% | 292 of 347 · 84.1% |
| Reed & Minton | 210 of 272 · 77.2% | 315 of 377 · 83.6% |
| Vinson & Reed | 404 of 525 · 77.0% | 643 of 764 · 84.2% |
| Burton & Minton | 210 of 273 · 76.9% | 314 of 377 · 83.3% |
| Vinson & Burton | 402 of 528 · 76.1% | 643 of 769 · 83.6% |
| Burton & Reed | 389 of 531 · 73.3% | 629 of 771 · 81.6% |
| Frankfurter & R. Jackson | 354 of 502 · 70.5% | 585 of 733 · 79.8% |
| R. Jackson & Clark | 164 of 236 · 69.5% | 262 of 334 · 78.4% |
| Murphy & Douglas | 161 of 234 · 68.8% | 286 of 359 · 79.7% |
| W. Rutledge & Douglas | 160 of 239 · 66.9% | 287 of 366 · 78.4% |
| Black & Douglas | 314 of 475 · 66.1% | 527 of 688 · 76.6% |
| Vinson & R. Jackson | 320 of 502 · 63.7% | 550 of 732 · 75.1% |
| R. Jackson & Reed | 315 of 507 · 62.1% | 548 of 740 · 74.1% |
| R. Jackson & Minton | 162 of 261 · 62.1% | 261 of 360 · 72.5% |
| Burton & R. Jackson | 314 of 509 · 61.7% | 545 of 740 · 73.6% |
| Frankfurter & Burton | 308 of 528 · 58.3% | 550 of 770 · 71.4% |
| Frankfurter & Clark | 138 of 240 · 57.5% | 238 of 340 · 70.0% |
| Frankfurter & Vinson | 290 of 521 · 55.7% | 531 of 762 · 69.7% |
| Frankfurter & Reed | 279 of 524 · 53.2% | 519 of 764 · 67.9% |
| Frankfurter & Minton | 137 of 267 · 51.3% | 239 of 369 · 64.8% |
| Reed & W. Rutledge | 120 of 244 · 49.2% | 246 of 370 · 66.5% |
| Vinson & Murphy | 116 of 238 · 48.7% | 240 of 362 · 66.3% |
| Black & Clark | 116 of 242 · 47.9% | 217 of 343 · 63.3% |
| Vinson & Black | 248 of 522 · 47.5% | 488 of 762 · 64.0% |
| Murphy & Reed | 109 of 239 · 45.6% | 231 of 361 · 64.0% |
| Reed & Douglas | 217 of 477 · 45.5% | 429 of 689 · 62.3% |
| Vinson & W. Rutledge | 109 of 243 · 44.9% | 235 of 369 · 63.7% |
| Burton & Black | 236 of 529 · 44.6% | 477 of 770 · 61.9% |
| Black & Reed | 230 of 525 · 43.8% | 469 of 764 · 61.4% |
| Frankfurter & Black | 229 of 524 · 43.7% | 470 of 765 · 61.4% |
| Burton & W. Rutledge | 108 of 247 · 43.7% | 236 of 375 · 62.9% |
| Frankfurter & Murphy | 104 of 242 · 43.0% | 231 of 369 · 62.6% |
| Black & Minton | 115 of 269 · 42.8% | 218 of 372 · 58.6% |
| Vinson & Douglas | 201 of 478 · 42.1% | 413 of 690 · 59.9% |
| Burton & Douglas | 202 of 482 · 41.9% | 415 of 695 · 59.7% |
| Clark & Douglas | 87 of 209 · 41.6% | 162 of 284 · 57.0% |
| Murphy & Burton | 96 of 242 · 39.7% | 222 of 368 · 60.3% |
| Frankfurter & Douglas | 185 of 475 · 38.9% | 400 of 690 · 58.0% |
| Minton & Douglas | 88 of 229 · 38.4% | 167 of 308 · 54.2% |
| Frankfurter & W. Rutledge | 93 of 247 · 37.7% | 222 of 376 · 59.0% |
| Murphy & R. Jackson | 88 of 235 · 37.4% | 209 of 356 · 58.7% |
| Black & R. Jackson | 187 of 505 · 37.0% | 417 of 735 · 56.7% |
| R. Jackson & W. Rutledge | 82 of 236 · 34.7% | 205 of 359 · 57.1% |
| R. Jackson & Douglas | 151 of 458 · 33.0% | 355 of 662 · 53.6% |
The Warren Court
OT1953–OT1968 · 2,175 cases, 1,390 of them divided · 16 justices with at least 150 cases
The 90 numbers behind this matrix
| Pair | Divided cases, same side | All cases, same side |
|---|---|---|
| T. Marshall & Brennan | 152 of 164 · 92.7% | 230 of 242 · 95.0% |
| Warren & T. Marshall | 147 of 164 · 89.6% | 225 of 242 · 93.0% |
| Warren & Brennan | 1043 of 1185 · 88.0% | 1690 of 1832 · 92.2% |
| Fortas & T. Marshall | 115 of 132 · 87.1% | 173 of 190 · 91.1% |
| Goldberg & Brennan | 236 of 277 · 85.2% | 405 of 446 · 90.8% |
| Fortas & Brennan | 286 of 345 · 82.9% | 470 of 529 · 88.8% |
| Goldberg & Warren | 226 of 276 · 81.9% | 392 of 442 · 88.7% |
| Fortas & Warren | 279 of 343 · 81.3% | 460 of 524 · 87.8% |
| Frankfurter & Harlan II | 432 of 546 · 79.1% | 706 of 820 · 86.1% |
| Whittaker & Burton | 105 of 138 · 76.1% | 161 of 194 · 83.0% |
| B. White & Brennan | 497 of 673 · 73.8% | 896 of 1072 · 83.6% |
| Warren & Black | 981 of 1343 · 73.0% | 1733 of 2095 · 82.7% |
| Fortas & Douglas | 250 of 344 · 72.7% | 433 of 527 · 82.2% |
| Reed & Minton | 119 of 164 · 72.6% | 237 of 282 · 84.0% |
| Burton & Reed | 140 of 194 · 72.2% | 270 of 324 · 83.3% |
| Whittaker & Stewart | 197 of 273 · 72.2% | 350 of 426 · 82.2% |
| Warren & Douglas | 973 of 1349 · 72.1% | 1726 of 2102 · 82.1% |
| Whittaker & Harlan II | 303 of 423 · 71.6% | 516 of 636 · 81.1% |
| B. White & Clark | 328 of 460 · 71.3% | 610 of 742 · 82.2% |
| Stewart & T. Marshall | 116 of 163 · 71.2% | 193 of 240 · 80.4% |
| T. Marshall & Douglas | 115 of 162 · 71.0% | 192 of 239 · 80.3% |
| Goldberg & Douglas | 195 of 276 · 70.7% | 362 of 443 · 81.7% |
| Brennan & Douglas | 844 of 1197 · 70.5% | 1500 of 1853 · 80.9% |
| Black & Douglas | 957 of 1360 · 70.4% | 1722 of 2125 · 81.0% |
| Whittaker & Frankfurter | 290 of 417 · 69.5% | 500 of 627 · 79.7% |
| Goldberg & Black | 191 of 279 · 68.5% | 359 of 447 · 80.3% |
| Black & Brennan | 813 of 1190 · 68.3% | 1468 of 1845 · 79.6% |
| B. White & Warren | 456 of 669 · 68.2% | 844 of 1057 · 79.8% |
| Frankfurter & Stewart | 187 of 275 · 68.0% | 338 of 426 · 79.3% |
| Burton & Clark | 241 of 355 · 67.9% | 431 of 545 · 79.1% |
| Burton & Harlan II | 177 of 261 · 67.8% | 295 of 379 · 77.8% |
| Minton & Clark | 108 of 160 · 67.5% | 226 of 278 · 81.3% |
| Burton & Minton | 112 of 167 · 67.1% | 230 of 285 · 80.7% |
| Reed & Clark | 124 of 186 · 66.7% | 253 of 315 · 80.3% |
| B. White & Stewart | 448 of 673 · 66.6% | 844 of 1069 · 79.0% |
| Goldberg & B. White | 180 of 272 · 66.2% | 342 of 434 · 78.8% |
| Whittaker & Clark | 276 of 422 · 65.4% | 484 of 630 · 76.8% |
| Warren & Clark | 739 of 1132 · 65.3% | 1378 of 1771 · 77.8% |
| Harlan II & Stewart | 644 of 990 · 65.1% | 1215 of 1561 · 77.8% |
| Goldberg & Stewart | 179 of 276 · 64.9% | 348 of 445 · 78.2% |
| Clark & Brennan | 631 of 976 · 64.7% | 1169 of 1514 · 77.2% |
| B. White & T. Marshall | 106 of 164 · 64.6% | 183 of 241 · 75.9% |
| Stewart & Brennan | 638 of 995 · 64.1% | 1213 of 1570 · 77.3% |
| Stewart & Clark | 490 of 775 · 63.2% | 945 of 1230 · 76.8% |
| Fortas & B. White | 211 of 341 · 61.9% | 393 of 523 · 75.1% |
| Frankfurter & Burton | 222 of 364 · 61.0% | 418 of 560 · 74.6% |
| B. White & Black | 412 of 676 · 60.9% | 809 of 1073 · 75.4% |
| Harlan II & Clark | 627 of 1050 · 59.7% | 1201 of 1624 · 74.0% |
| Frankfurter & Clark | 376 of 640 · 58.8% | 721 of 985 · 73.2% |
| Fortas & Stewart | 203 of 347 · 58.5% | 386 of 530 · 72.8% |
| Fortas & Clark | 97 of 166 · 58.4% | 185 of 254 · 72.8% |
| Warren & Minton | 92 of 159 · 57.9% | 207 of 274 · 75.5% |
| Warren & Stewart | 551 of 986 · 55.9% | 1113 of 1548 · 71.9% |
| Fortas & Black | 193 of 346 · 55.8% | 374 of 527 · 71.0% |
| Goldberg & Clark | 153 of 276 · 55.4% | 322 of 445 · 72.4% |
| Harlan II & Minton | 35 of 64 · 54.7% | 77 of 106 · 72.6% |
| B. White & Harlan II | 363 of 672 · 54.0% | 761 of 1070 · 71.1% |
| Frankfurter & Minton | 90 of 167 · 53.9% | 210 of 287 · 73.2% |
| Black & Clark | 603 of 1138 · 53.0% | 1248 of 1783 · 70.0% |
| Burton & Brennan | 99 of 187 · 52.9% | 178 of 266 · 66.9% |
| Frankfurter & Brennan | 247 of 477 · 51.8% | 482 of 712 · 67.7% |
| Warren & Reed | 96 of 186 · 51.6% | 223 of 313 · 71.2% |
| B. White & Douglas | 342 of 670 · 51.0% | 737 of 1065 · 69.2% |
| Black & T. Marshall | 82 of 162 · 50.6% | 160 of 240 · 66.7% |
| Warren & Burton | 174 of 352 · 49.4% | 364 of 542 · 67.2% |
| Black & Stewart | 487 of 994 · 49.0% | 1056 of 1563 · 67.6% |
| Harlan II & Reed | 46 of 94 · 48.9% | 100 of 148 · 67.6% |
| Whittaker & Brennan | 208 of 426 · 48.8% | 423 of 641 · 66.0% |
| Harlan II & T. Marshall | 75 of 162 · 46.3% | 153 of 240 · 63.8% |
| Harlan II & Brennan | 538 of 1193 · 45.1% | 1195 of 1850 · 64.6% |
| Frankfurter & Reed | 87 of 194 · 44.8% | 219 of 326 · 67.2% |
| Black & Minton | 74 of 165 · 44.8% | 192 of 283 · 67.8% |
| Warren & Frankfurter | 281 of 639 · 44.0% | 626 of 984 · 63.6% |
| Clark & Douglas | 499 of 1145 · 43.6% | 1147 of 1793 · 64.0% |
| Stewart & Douglas | 430 of 992 · 43.3% | 999 of 1561 · 64.0% |
| Whittaker & Warren | 177 of 417 · 42.4% | 387 of 627 · 61.7% |
| Fortas & Harlan II | 139 of 346 · 40.2% | 324 of 531 · 61.0% |
| Warren & Harlan II | 482 of 1250 · 38.6% | 1165 of 1933 · 60.3% |
| Frankfurter & Black | 246 of 641 · 38.4% | 595 of 990 · 60.1% |
| Burton & Black | 132 of 355 · 37.2% | 325 of 548 · 59.3% |
| Whittaker & Black | 152 of 419 · 36.3% | 364 of 631 · 57.7% |
| Goldberg & Harlan II | 97 of 276 · 35.1% | 265 of 444 · 59.7% |
| Minton & Douglas | 57 of 164 · 34.8% | 174 of 281 · 61.9% |
| Black & Harlan II | 428 of 1257 · 34.0% | 1119 of 1948 · 57.4% |
| Black & Reed | 64 of 190 · 33.7% | 193 of 319 · 60.5% |
| Burton & Douglas | 109 of 362 · 30.1% | 302 of 555 · 54.4% |
| Frankfurter & Douglas | 191 of 652 · 29.3% | 541 of 1002 · 54.0% |
| Reed & Douglas | 56 of 191 · 29.3% | 185 of 320 · 57.8% |
| Whittaker & Douglas | 122 of 428 · 28.5% | 334 of 640 · 52.2% |
| Harlan II & Douglas | 311 of 1266 · 24.6% | 1004 of 1959 · 51.3% |
The Burger Court
OT1969–OT1985 · 2,772 cases, 1,742 of them divided · 13 justices with at least 150 cases
The 67 numbers behind this matrix
| Pair | Divided cases, same side | All cases, same side |
|---|---|---|
| T. Marshall & Brennan | 1448 of 1674 · 86.5% | 2424 of 2650 · 91.5% |
| O'Connor & Rehnquist | 409 of 502 · 81.5% | 725 of 818 · 88.6% |
| O'Connor & Burger | 407 of 503 · 80.9% | 723 of 819 · 88.3% |
| Burger & Rehnquist | 1203 of 1498 · 80.3% | 2080 of 2375 · 87.6% |
| Powell & Burger | 1143 of 1442 · 79.3% | 1964 of 2263 · 86.8% |
| Powell & O'Connor | 365 of 475 · 76.8% | 652 of 762 · 85.6% |
| Harlan II & Burger | 128 of 175 · 73.1% | 223 of 270 · 82.6% |
| Powell & Stewart | 696 of 959 · 72.6% | 1218 of 1481 · 82.2% |
| Powell & Rehnquist | 1019 of 1427 · 71.4% | 1830 of 2238 · 81.8% |
| B. White & Burger | 1226 of 1727 · 71.0% | 2242 of 2743 · 81.7% |
| Blackmun & Burger | 1154 of 1633 · 70.7% | 2112 of 2591 · 81.5% |
| B. White & Powell | 1000 of 1438 · 69.5% | 1818 of 2256 · 80.6% |
| Brennan & Douglas | 406 of 587 · 69.2% | 734 of 915 · 80.2% |
| B. White & O'Connor | 346 of 500 · 69.2% | 660 of 814 · 81.1% |
| Blackmun & Harlan II | 65 of 94 · 69.1% | 115 of 144 · 79.9% |
| B. White & Blackmun | 1122 of 1630 · 68.8% | 2076 of 2584 · 80.3% |
| T. Marshall & Douglas | 386 of 568 · 68.0% | 712 of 894 · 79.6% |
| Blackmun & Powell | 965 of 1429 · 67.5% | 1771 of 2235 · 79.2% |
| Stewart & Burger | 807 of 1214 · 66.5% | 1490 of 1897 · 78.5% |
| Harlan II & Stewart | 117 of 176 · 66.5% | 213 of 272 · 78.3% |
| B. White & Harlan II | 117 of 177 · 66.1% | 212 of 272 · 77.9% |
| B. White & Rehnquist | 950 of 1494 · 63.6% | 1823 of 2367 · 77.0% |
| Blackmun & Stewart | 699 of 1119 · 62.5% | 1322 of 1742 · 75.9% |
| B. White & Stewart | 755 of 1214 · 62.2% | 1437 of 1896 · 75.8% |
| Stewart & Rehnquist | 609 of 984 · 61.9% | 1150 of 1525 · 75.4% |
| Stevens & Stewart | 330 of 557 · 59.2% | 631 of 858 · 73.5% |
| Harlan II & T. Marshall | 94 of 160 · 58.8% | 185 of 251 · 73.7% |
| Stevens & Brennan | 620 of 1056 · 58.7% | 1229 of 1665 · 73.8% |
| Blackmun & Rehnquist | 868 of 1483 · 58.5% | 1726 of 2341 · 73.7% |
| Blackmun & Black | 55 of 95 · 57.9% | 105 of 145 · 72.4% |
| Blackmun & O'Connor | 287 of 502 · 57.2% | 601 of 816 · 73.7% |
| Stevens & T. Marshall | 571 of 1050 · 54.4% | 1171 of 1650 · 71.0% |
| Blackmun & Stevens | 573 of 1058 · 54.2% | 1180 of 1665 · 70.9% |
| Black & Burger | 95 of 176 · 54.0% | 189 of 270 · 70.0% |
| B. White & Black | 95 of 177 · 53.7% | 189 of 271 · 69.7% |
| Stewart & T. Marshall | 634 of 1182 · 53.6% | 1298 of 1846 · 70.3% |
| Harlan II & Brennan | 95 of 178 · 53.4% | 189 of 272 · 69.5% |
| Blackmun & Brennan | 860 of 1618 · 53.2% | 1801 of 2559 · 70.4% |
| Stevens & Powell | 543 of 1022 · 53.1% | 1109 of 1588 · 69.8% |
| B. White & Brennan | 908 of 1712 · 53.0% | 1909 of 2713 · 70.4% |
| Blackmun & T. Marshall | 847 of 1608 · 52.7% | 1776 of 2537 · 70.0% |
| B. White & Stevens | 555 of 1068 · 52.0% | 1172 of 1685 · 69.6% |
| B. White & T. Marshall | 855 of 1688 · 50.7% | 1843 of 2676 · 68.9% |
| Stewart & Brennan | 610 of 1202 · 50.7% | 1282 of 1874 · 68.4% |
| Black & T. Marshall | 81 of 161 · 50.3% | 172 of 252 · 68.3% |
| Black & Stewart | 88 of 177 · 49.7% | 183 of 272 · 67.3% |
| Black & Brennan | 89 of 179 · 49.7% | 183 of 273 · 67.0% |
| Black & Douglas | 83 of 172 · 48.3% | 177 of 266 · 66.5% |
| Stevens & O'Connor | 242 of 502 · 48.2% | 551 of 811 · 67.9% |
| Stevens & Burger | 514 of 1071 · 48.0% | 1133 of 1690 · 67.0% |
| Black & Harlan II | 79 of 176 · 44.9% | 173 of 270 · 64.1% |
| Stevens & Rehnquist | 465 of 1059 · 43.9% | 1074 of 1668 · 64.4% |
| Stewart & Douglas | 253 of 587 · 43.1% | 574 of 908 · 63.2% |
| Powell & Brennan | 609 of 1425 · 42.7% | 1417 of 2233 · 63.5% |
| Powell & T. Marshall | 602 of 1417 · 42.5% | 1400 of 2215 · 63.2% |
| O'Connor & Brennan | 179 of 500 · 35.8% | 494 of 815 · 60.6% |
| B. White & Douglas | 209 of 587 · 35.6% | 540 of 918 · 58.8% |
| Harlan II & Douglas | 60 of 171 · 35.1% | 154 of 265 · 58.1% |
| Burger & Brennan | 596 of 1715 · 34.8% | 1599 of 2718 · 58.8% |
| T. Marshall & Burger | 578 of 1690 · 34.2% | 1568 of 2680 · 58.5% |
| O'Connor & T. Marshall | 149 of 494 · 30.2% | 456 of 801 · 56.9% |
| Powell & Douglas | 104 of 356 · 29.2% | 294 of 546 · 53.8% |
| Blackmun & Douglas | 133 of 503 · 26.4% | 417 of 787 · 53.0% |
| Rehnquist & Brennan | 348 of 1483 · 23.5% | 1209 of 2344 · 51.6% |
| T. Marshall & Rehnquist | 322 of 1472 · 21.9% | 1174 of 2324 · 50.5% |
| Burger & Douglas | 120 of 587 · 20.4% | 451 of 918 · 49.1% |
| Rehnquist & Douglas | 47 of 371 · 12.7% | 246 of 570 · 43.2% |
The Rehnquist Court
OT1986–OT2004 · 2,028 cases, 1,182 of them divided · 14 justices with at least 150 cases
The 76 numbers behind this matrix
| Pair | Divided cases, same side | All cases, same side |
|---|---|---|
| T. Marshall & Brennan | 349 of 375 · 93.1% | 564 of 590 · 95.6% |
| Scalia & Thomas | 619 of 718 · 86.2% | 1179 of 1278 · 92.3% |
| Souter & Ginsburg | 483 of 592 · 81.6% | 950 of 1059 · 89.7% |
| Kennedy & Rehnquist | 792 of 1014 · 78.1% | 1546 of 1768 · 87.4% |
| Scalia & Rehnquist | 907 of 1170 · 77.5% | 1738 of 2001 · 86.9% |
| Ginsburg & Breyer | 412 of 535 · 77.0% | 834 of 957 · 87.1% |
| Powell & Rehnquist | 85 of 112 · 75.9% | 132 of 159 · 83.0% |
| Thomas & Rehnquist | 541 of 713 · 75.9% | 1097 of 1269 · 86.4% |
| Souter & Breyer | 403 of 535 · 75.3% | 823 of 955 · 86.2% |
| B. White & Rehnquist | 438 of 584 · 75.0% | 809 of 955 · 84.7% |
| O'Connor & Rehnquist | 863 of 1161 · 74.3% | 1692 of 1990 · 85.0% |
| Powell & O'Connor | 83 of 112 · 74.1% | 129 of 158 · 81.6% |
| Kennedy & O'Connor | 746 of 1007 · 74.1% | 1499 of 1760 · 85.2% |
| Kennedy & Scalia | 747 of 1019 · 73.3% | 1504 of 1776 · 84.7% |
| Blackmun & Brennan | 274 of 375 · 73.1% | 488 of 589 · 82.9% |
| B. White & Powell | 81 of 111 · 73.0% | 128 of 158 · 81.0% |
| Kennedy & B. White | 304 of 425 · 71.5% | 592 of 713 · 83.0% |
| Blackmun & T. Marshall | 320 of 450 · 71.1% | 586 of 716 · 81.8% |
| Stevens & Ginsburg | 411 of 590 · 69.7% | 879 of 1058 · 83.1% |
| Scalia & Powell | 76 of 110 · 69.1% | 121 of 155 · 78.1% |
| Scalia & O'Connor | 795 of 1164 · 68.3% | 1624 of 1993 · 81.5% |
| Scalia & B. White | 397 of 582 · 68.2% | 764 of 949 · 80.5% |
| Kennedy & Thomas | 488 of 719 · 67.9% | 1050 of 1281 · 82.0% |
| B. White & Souter | 135 of 199 · 67.8% | 286 of 350 · 81.7% |
| B. White & O'Connor | 386 of 581 · 66.4% | 754 of 949 · 79.5% |
| Blackmun & Stevens | 416 of 638 · 65.2% | 825 of 1047 · 78.8% |
| Stevens & T. Marshall | 292 of 449 · 65.0% | 558 of 715 · 78.0% |
| Stevens & Breyer | 346 of 533 · 64.9% | 767 of 954 · 80.4% |
| Thomas & O'Connor | 459 of 711 · 64.6% | 1016 of 1268 · 80.1% |
| Stevens & Brennan | 240 of 374 · 64.2% | 453 of 587 · 77.2% |
| O'Connor & Breyer | 329 of 529 · 62.2% | 746 of 946 · 78.9% |
| Souter & Stevens | 485 of 790 · 61.4% | 1102 of 1407 · 78.3% |
| Souter & O'Connor | 482 of 785 · 61.4% | 1096 of 1399 · 78.3% |
| Kennedy & Souter | 483 of 792 · 61.0% | 1100 of 1409 · 78.1% |
| B. White & Thomas | 75 of 125 · 60.0% | 167 of 217 · 77.0% |
| Blackmun & Powell | 61 of 111 · 55.0% | 106 of 156 · 67.9% |
| Kennedy & Breyer | 293 of 536 · 54.7% | 715 of 958 · 74.6% |
| Kennedy & Ginsburg | 323 of 593 · 54.5% | 793 of 1063 · 74.6% |
| Ginsburg & O'Connor | 314 of 585 · 53.7% | 779 of 1050 · 74.2% |
| Souter & Blackmun | 133 of 253 · 52.6% | 325 of 445 · 73.0% |
| Souter & Rehnquist | 408 of 787 · 51.8% | 1021 of 1400 · 72.9% |
| Blackmun & Ginsburg | 27 of 53 · 50.9% | 67 of 93 · 72.0% |
| B. White & Blackmun | 290 of 585 · 49.6% | 660 of 955 · 69.1% |
| Scalia & Souter | 378 of 792 · 47.7% | 994 of 1408 · 70.6% |
| Breyer & Rehnquist | 253 of 530 · 47.7% | 669 of 946 · 70.7% |
| B. White & Stevens | 270 of 584 · 46.2% | 640 of 954 · 67.1% |
| Ginsburg & Rehnquist | 271 of 587 · 46.2% | 735 of 1051 · 69.9% |
| Kennedy & Blackmun | 215 of 479 · 44.9% | 545 of 809 · 67.4% |
| Stevens & Powell | 49 of 112 · 43.8% | 95 of 158 · 60.1% |
| Blackmun & O'Connor | 273 of 634 · 43.1% | 682 of 1043 · 65.4% |
| Thomas & Souter | 304 of 717 · 42.4% | 863 of 1276 · 67.6% |
| Kennedy & Stevens | 411 of 1016 · 40.5% | 1167 of 1772 · 65.9% |
| Stevens & O'Connor | 465 of 1165 · 39.9% | 1296 of 1996 · 64.9% |
| Powell & Brennan | 44 of 112 · 39.3% | 91 of 159 · 57.2% |
| Scalia & Ginsburg | 226 of 592 · 38.2% | 694 of 1060 · 65.5% |
| Scalia & Blackmun | 234 of 636 · 36.8% | 641 of 1043 · 61.5% |
| Scalia & Breyer | 197 of 535 · 36.8% | 617 of 955 · 64.6% |
| Blackmun & Rehnquist | 234 of 638 · 36.7% | 645 of 1049 · 61.5% |
| Powell & T. Marshall | 41 of 112 · 36.6% | 88 of 159 · 55.3% |
| Thomas & Ginsburg | 212 of 592 · 35.8% | 681 of 1061 · 64.2% |
| B. White & Brennan | 129 of 375 · 34.4% | 344 of 590 · 58.3% |
| Thomas & Breyer | 181 of 535 · 33.8% | 602 of 956 · 63.0% |
| Kennedy & Brennan | 72 of 217 · 33.2% | 207 of 352 · 58.8% |
| B. White & T. Marshall | 147 of 450 · 32.7% | 415 of 718 · 57.8% |
| Scalia & Brennan | 115 of 372 · 30.9% | 328 of 585 · 56.1% |
| Souter & T. Marshall | 20 of 65 · 30.8% | 67 of 112 · 59.8% |
| Stevens & Rehnquist | 346 of 1169 · 29.6% | 1178 of 2001 · 58.9% |
| O'Connor & Brennan | 107 of 371 · 28.8% | 319 of 583 · 54.7% |
| Scalia & Stevens | 332 of 1172 · 28.3% | 1164 of 2004 · 58.1% |
| Kennedy & T. Marshall | 81 of 289 · 28.0% | 266 of 474 · 56.1% |
| Scalia & T. Marshall | 120 of 447 · 26.8% | 383 of 710 · 53.9% |
| Thomas & Blackmun | 46 of 179 · 25.7% | 179 of 312 · 57.4% |
| O'Connor & T. Marshall | 113 of 446 · 25.3% | 377 of 710 · 53.1% |
| Rehnquist & Brennan | 84 of 374 · 22.5% | 299 of 589 · 50.8% |
| Thomas & Stevens | 148 of 716 · 20.7% | 708 of 1276 · 55.5% |
| T. Marshall & Rehnquist | 84 of 449 · 18.7% | 351 of 716 · 49.0% |
The Roberts Court
OT2005–OT2024 · 1,460 cases, 797 of them divided · 15 justices with at least 150 cases
The 84 numbers behind this matrix
| Pair | Divided cases, same side | All cases, same side |
|---|---|---|
| Kavanaugh & J. Roberts | 230 of 253 · 90.9% | 410 of 433 · 94.7% |
| K. Jackson & Sotomayor | 82 of 95 · 86.3% | 165 of 178 · 92.7% |
| Barrett & Kavanaugh | 143 of 171 · 83.6% | 267 of 295 · 90.5% |
| Kagan & Sotomayor | 441 of 539 · 81.8% | 902 of 1000 · 90.2% |
| Kagan & Ginsburg | 298 of 365 · 81.6% | 632 of 699 · 90.4% |
| Kagan & Breyer | 361 of 443 · 81.5% | 742 of 824 · 90.0% |
| Scalia & Thomas | 352 of 436 · 80.7% | 728 of 812 · 89.7% |
| Ginsburg & Sotomayor | 345 of 428 · 80.6% | 736 of 819 · 89.9% |
| Barrett & J. Roberts | 135 of 171 · 78.9% | 259 of 295 · 87.8% |
| Kagan & K. Jackson | 75 of 95 · 78.9% | 158 of 178 · 88.8% |
| Scalia & J. Roberts | 339 of 431 · 78.7% | 711 of 803 · 88.5% |
| Thomas & Alito | 596 of 775 · 76.9% | 1225 of 1404 · 87.3% |
| Souter & Ginsburg | 141 of 184 · 76.6% | 273 of 316 · 86.4% |
| Breyer & Sotomayor | 383 of 505 · 75.8% | 821 of 943 · 87.1% |
| J. Roberts & Alito | 582 of 772 · 75.4% | 1207 of 1397 · 86.4% |
| Ginsburg & Breyer | 458 of 612 · 74.8% | 986 of 1140 · 86.5% |
| Kavanaugh & Alito | 187 of 252 · 74.2% | 365 of 430 · 84.9% |
| Kennedy & Gorsuch | 37 of 50 · 74.0% | 76 of 89 · 85.4% |
| Kennedy & J. Roberts | 393 of 532 · 73.9% | 865 of 1004 · 86.2% |
| Souter & Stevens | 136 of 184 · 73.9% | 268 of 316 · 84.8% |
| Souter & Breyer | 132 of 179 · 73.7% | 263 of 310 · 84.8% |
| Scalia & Alito | 302 of 418 · 72.2% | 648 of 764 · 84.8% |
| Barrett & Alito | 122 of 170 · 71.8% | 244 of 292 · 83.6% |
| Stevens & Ginsburg | 167 of 234 · 71.4% | 341 of 408 · 83.6% |
| Barrett & Thomas | 122 of 171 · 71.3% | 246 of 295 · 83.4% |
| Stevens & Breyer | 160 of 228 · 70.2% | 333 of 401 · 83.0% |
| Stevens & Sotomayor | 32 of 46 · 69.6% | 71 of 85 · 83.5% |
| Kennedy & Alito | 357 of 518 · 68.9% | 804 of 965 · 83.3% |
| Thomas & Gorsuch | 211 of 307 · 68.7% | 432 of 528 · 81.8% |
| Gorsuch & Alito | 209 of 306 · 68.3% | 429 of 526 · 81.6% |
| Thomas & J. Roberts | 522 of 790 · 66.1% | 1177 of 1445 · 81.5% |
| Barrett & Gorsuch | 110 of 170 · 64.7% | 233 of 293 · 79.5% |
| Kavanaugh & Thomas | 158 of 253 · 62.5% | 338 of 433 · 78.1% |
| Kennedy & Scalia | 271 of 436 · 62.2% | 647 of 812 · 79.7% |
| Kennedy & Kagan | 176 of 285 · 61.8% | 457 of 566 · 80.7% |
| J. Roberts & Gorsuch | 188 of 307 · 61.2% | 410 of 529 · 77.5% |
| Kavanaugh & Gorsuch | 154 of 252 · 61.1% | 333 of 431 · 77.3% |
| Kennedy & Breyer | 307 of 530 · 57.9% | 782 of 1005 · 77.8% |
| Kennedy & Thomas | 307 of 537 · 57.2% | 783 of 1013 · 77.3% |
| Kennedy & Sotomayor | 187 of 347 · 53.9% | 526 of 686 · 76.7% |
| Kagan & J. Roberts | 288 of 542 · 53.1% | 751 of 1005 · 74.7% |
| Kavanaugh & Kagan | 133 of 252 · 52.8% | 313 of 432 · 72.5% |
| Kavanaugh & Breyer | 80 of 156 · 51.3% | 177 of 253 · 70.0% |
| Kennedy & Ginsburg | 275 of 538 · 51.1% | 753 of 1016 · 74.1% |
| Barrett & Kagan | 87 of 171 · 50.9% | 211 of 295 · 71.5% |
| Kennedy & Souter | 93 of 183 · 50.8% | 225 of 315 · 71.4% |
| J. Roberts & K. Jackson | 48 of 95 · 50.5% | 131 of 178 · 73.6% |
| J. Roberts & Breyer | 346 of 687 · 50.4% | 918 of 1259 · 72.9% |
| Kavanaugh & K. Jackson | 47 of 95 · 49.5% | 130 of 178 · 73.0% |
| J. Roberts & Sotomayor | 280 of 605 · 46.3% | 800 of 1125 · 71.1% |
| Kavanaugh & Ginsburg | 35 of 76 · 46.1% | 83 of 124 · 66.9% |
| Barrett & K. Jackson | 43 of 95 · 45.3% | 126 of 178 · 70.8% |
| Kavanaugh & Sotomayor | 111 of 253 · 43.9% | 290 of 432 · 67.1% |
| Souter & J. Roberts | 77 of 178 · 43.3% | 206 of 307 · 67.1% |
| J. Roberts & Ginsburg | 263 of 614 · 42.8% | 788 of 1139 · 69.2% |
| Kennedy & Stevens | 99 of 233 · 42.5% | 273 of 407 · 67.1% |
| Scalia & Kagan | 79 of 187 · 42.2% | 262 of 370 · 70.8% |
| Barrett & Sotomayor | 71 of 171 · 41.5% | 195 of 295 · 66.1% |
| Kagan & Gorsuch | 125 of 305 · 41.0% | 345 of 525 · 65.7% |
| Barrett & Breyer | 28 of 74 · 37.8% | 69 of 115 · 60.0% |
| Alito & Breyer | 252 of 671 · 37.6% | 798 of 1217 · 65.6% |
| Souter & Alito | 63 of 169 · 37.3% | 165 of 271 · 60.9% |
| Scalia & Souter | 66 of 183 · 36.1% | 198 of 315 · 62.9% |
| Gorsuch & Ginsburg | 47 of 131 · 35.9% | 138 of 222 · 62.2% |
| Gorsuch & Breyer | 75 of 211 · 35.5% | 215 of 351 · 61.3% |
| Scalia & Sotomayor | 85 of 248 · 34.3% | 323 of 486 · 66.5% |
| Scalia & Ginsburg | 148 of 437 · 33.9% | 525 of 814 · 64.5% |
| J. Roberts & Stevens | 76 of 228 · 33.3% | 247 of 399 · 61.9% |
| Kagan & Alito | 176 of 537 · 32.8% | 640 of 1001 · 63.9% |
| Scalia & Breyer | 140 of 429 · 32.6% | 514 of 803 · 64.0% |
| Gorsuch & Sotomayor | 99 of 307 · 32.2% | 320 of 528 · 60.6% |
| K. Jackson & Gorsuch | 30 of 94 · 31.9% | 112 of 176 · 63.6% |
| Ginsburg & Alito | 191 of 600 · 31.8% | 691 of 1100 · 62.8% |
| Thomas & Kagan | 167 of 542 · 30.8% | 632 of 1007 · 62.8% |
| Thomas & Souter | 56 of 183 · 30.6% | 187 of 314 · 59.6% |
| Thomas & Breyer | 200 of 691 · 28.9% | 775 of 1266 · 61.2% |
| Stevens & Alito | 63 of 218 · 28.9% | 206 of 361 · 57.1% |
| Scalia & Stevens | 63 of 233 · 27.0% | 237 of 407 · 58.2% |
| K. Jackson & Alito | 25 of 95 · 26.3% | 106 of 176 · 60.2% |
| Alito & Sotomayor | 156 of 599 · 26.0% | 676 of 1119 · 60.4% |
| Thomas & Ginsburg | 159 of 619 · 25.7% | 688 of 1148 · 59.9% |
| Thomas & Sotomayor | 142 of 605 · 23.5% | 664 of 1127 · 58.9% |
| Thomas & Stevens | 47 of 233 · 20.2% | 220 of 406 · 54.2% |
| Thomas & K. Jackson | 19 of 95 · 20.0% | 102 of 178 · 57.3% |
Method, and its limits
Built from the Supreme Court Database (2025 Release 01, justice-centered), covering the 1946 through 2024 terms. One vote per justice per case. A pair enters a matrix only if both justices have at least 150 cases under that Chief; a cell is left blank below 30 shared divided cases. Cases where the database records a justice on both sides, or gives no determinate side at all — no recorded vote, or an equally divided Court — are excluded rather than guessed at.
Grouped by Chief Justice, not by natural court. The database marks 36 distinct natural courts in this period, each a stretch with unchanged membership, and that is the statistically cleaner unit: every pair inside one shares the same denominator. It is also unreadable — the median natural court is 160 cases, and they have no names anyone knows. Grouping by Chief buys legibility at the price of uneven denominators inside a matrix, since membership turns over underneath a long Chief. Brennan and Marshall’s Burger-era cell rests on 1,674 divided cases; others in the same grid rest on a few hundred. The counts are on every cell.
One outside check. SCOTUSblog publishes agreement tables each term in its Stat Pack, built from its own tally rather than from this database. For the 2024 term it put Roberts and Kavanaugh at 91 percent; the figure computed here, 90.9%, covers the whole Roberts era rather than that single term, so the two are not the same measurement. The definitions differ too — SCOTUSblog’s tier counts agreement in full, in part, or in the judgment only, and counts every case rather than only divided ones. Treat the closeness as reassurance that nothing here is badly wrong, rather than as corroboration.
Sources for the pairs above
- Brennan’s recurring capital dissent, quoted verbatim from Keenan v. California, 490 U.S. 1012 (1989) (Brennan, J., dissenting from denial of certiorari), citing Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 227 (1976). Marshall used his own wording for the same practice, pin-citing page 231 of his own Gregg dissent rather than 227.
- Carol Steiker, who clerked for Marshall, on typing it from memory: Discussions with DPIC, Death Penalty Information Center, 18 June 2018.
- Brennan as strategist, from his Baltimore Sun obituary, 1997.
- Thomas on precedent, quoted from his concurrence in Gamble v. United States, 587 U.S. 678, 718 (2019).
- Martin–Quinn scores: Andrew D. Martin & Kevin M. Quinn, “Dynamic Ideal Point Estimation via Markov Chain Monte Carlo for the U.S. Supreme Court, 1953–1999,” Political Analysis 10 (2002): 134–53; the ongoing series extends back to the October 1937 term.
- SCOTUSblog’s independent tally: Stat Pack for October Term 2024.
- Rehnquist took his seat 7 January 1972; Douglas retired 12 November 1975.
Questions
Which Supreme Court justices vote together most often?
William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall. They reached 93.1% on the Rehnquist Court — the highest figure any pair reaches in any one Chief Justice's era — and held 88.1% across the 2,213 divided cases of their entire overlap. Roberts and Kavanaugh record a higher rate than that career figure, 90.9%, but on 253 divided cases rather than 2,213 — a rate worth less confidence. SCOTUSblog independently puts the Roberts–Kavanaugh figure at 91%.
Which two justices disagreed the most?
William Rehnquist and William O. Douglas, who agreed in only 12.7% of the 371 divided cases they shared before Douglas retired in 1975. Over a much longer overlap — nineteen years, spanning two Chief Justices — Thurgood Marshall and Rehnquist agreed roughly a fifth of the time, which is the most durable disagreement in the modern record.
Do justices agree more often than people think?
Yes. Across the 9,224 cases here, 39% were decided without a single dissent. That is why this page reports divided cases separately: counting unanimous decisions makes every pair on the Court look like allies, including justices who disagree about nearly everything the Court actually divides over.
Does agreeing on the outcome mean agreeing on the law?
No, and this is the main limit of the measure. A justice can join the judgment and write separately to say the majority reached it for entirely the wrong reasons — that counts as agreement here. Two justices can also dissent from the same decision for opposite reasons and be scored as agreeing. The number tracks which side of the judgment each landed on, nothing more.
Companion pages: how far each justice moved across a career, and every justice’s voting record by issue area on their own profile. Every Court before 1946 — and the seven whose justices cannot be ranked at all — is at Every Court, Left to Right.