I posted earlier about the Texas Supreme Court’s relatively light slate of oral arguments, ultimately speculating the Court might still hear 75 cases if it filled up all its available slots.

That hypothetical did not come to pass. It seems that the Court has canceled its late April argument sitting, its last of the spring, bringing the total to seven argument days canceled this spring (out of fourteen originally scheduled).

What’s Happening Here?

The Court’s choice to hear so few arguments this year looks like an attempt to clear out its oft-criticized inventory of older cases. If so, I would expect a significant number of opinions in the coming months, perhaps especially in the oldest pending cases.

This has been a tough stretch to be a petitioner, but the Court is continuing to grant new cases. They are just being held for the fall argument schedule.

Having several months between grant and argument may seem like an extraordinarily long time, but that fits fairly well the way the U.S. Supreme Court schedules arguments. (( In fairness, though, the Texas cases are older when granted because the U.S. Supreme Court does not request full briefing prior to granting review. Instead, the parties use the often long lead time to write those merits briefs. ))