Partisan independence on the supreme court

partisan independence

Define partisan independence as the ratio of cross-party agreement to cross-party disagreement. Partisan independence is highest for those who both frequently disagree with co-partisans and frequently agree with counter-partisans. Kennedy and Roberts lead the pack. In the second group are Scalia and  Alito. Thomas now clusters with the Democrats. While Thomas often disagrees with co-partisans, he also often disagrees with counter-partisans–the two tendencies cancel out.