# Most SCOTUS opinions from one case **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558 "2022-10-01T20:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/1 "2022-10-01T20:31:45Z")
Reading up on the [Baker v Carr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_v._Carr) Supreme Court case, I was struck by how many opinions were issued in that case. The decision was 6-2 (one Justice recused himself due to health). Besides the official opinion, there were three concurring and two dissenting opinions issued. That means six opinions from eight Justices. Has there ever been a case where all Justices issued an opinion? If not, what’s the highest percentage? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/2 "2022-10-01T21:07:51Z")
Just a pre-emptive reminder that this is Factual Questions. We need not concern ourselves here with whether the opinions were “right”, “wrong”, “reasonable”, or anything of the sort. Who offered or co-signed what agreement is an objective matter of public record, and all we need concern ourselves with here. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/3 "2022-10-02T10:50:17Z")
Seems to be an answer to the same (or a substantially similar) question here: > In summary, in _New York Times Co. v. United States_, there were nine separate signed opinions, plus one unsigned opinion (really just a short statement) reporting the court’s overall ruling. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/4 "2022-10-02T11:34:49Z")
Great find, @psychonaut ! That certainly answers my question. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/5 "2022-10-02T17:05:13Z")
If you look closely at the linked page, you’ll see why I didn’t have to “find” it at all. 😉 Great minds question alike! ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/6 "2022-10-03T03:04:29Z")
As an aside there is a podcast called “[More Perfect](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolabmoreperfect)” which looked into the _Baker v. Carr_ Supreme Court case. I think it is fascinating. Well worth a listen. The case kinda killed two justices (only a little hyperbole…it really did ruin two of them). - [The Political Thicket](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolabmoreperfect/episodes/the-political-thicket) > When Chief Justice Earl Warren was asked at the end of his career, “What was the most important case of your tenure?”, there were a lot of answers he could have given. After all, he had presided over some of the most important decisions in the court’s history — cases that dealt with segregation in schools, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, just to name a few. But his answer was a surprise: He said, “Baker v. Carr,” a 1962 redistricting case. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scotus-opinions-from-one-case/972558/7 "2022-10-03T17:00:21Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Has there ever been a case where all Justices issued an opinion? Yes. At the beginning, the justices issued their opinion _seriatim_, meaning each justice would publish their opinion. [Good article on it here.](https://verdict.justia.com/2017/10/09/fall-seriatim-opinions-rise-supreme-court)