Because it leans to the right, according to most pundits, the U.S. Supreme Court is supposed to be good for business. They are supposed to favor the free market over regulation almost every time out. But the truth is that it really does depend on the case. From year to year, the percentage of businesses that win when matched against an individual or government agency varies widely.
The most recent analysis of the high court’s business docket, the Mayer Brown Supreme Court Term in Review, found that businesses are not assured a victory when they come before the court’s nine robed members. Of the 25 cases that were heard before them, businesses prevailed in 16, which is a sixty-four percent success rate.
Furthermore, the court has not shown much if any favoritism for businesses in its recent history. In 2010, for example, business prevailed in only 48 percent of the decisions, which was lower than the 62 percent in 2009. The point is that the U.S. Supreme Court has not demonstrated a bias for or against business, even though it has more conservative justices than liberal ones.