Opinion writing and authorship on the Supreme Court of Canada

In contrast to other branches of government, the Supreme Court of Canada operates with relatively lean staffing. For most of the Court’s history, its justices alone determined which cases to review, heard oral argument, and wrote opinions. Only since 1967 have justices have been aided in these responsibilities by law clerks. While interest abounds in the relationship between justices and their clerks – particularly the writing of opinions – very little is known. This article analyses the text of the Court’s opinions to better understand judicial authorship. We find that justices have distinct writing styles, allowing us to distinguish them from one another. Their writing styles also provide insight into how clerks influence the writing of opinions. Most justices in the modern era possess a more variable writing style than their predecessors did, both within and across years, providing strong evidence that clerks are increasingly involved in the writing of judicial opinions.