Computerized Word-Frequency Analysis Hints at Judicial Temperament

Fascinating tidbit on the Alito hearings from the Washington Post today: “I, I, Sir: The Alito Hearings, Annotated.”

The Washington Post asked Adrian Holovaty, who holds the position of boy genius/computer wiz at Washingtonpost.com, to run a computer analysis of the transcripts of the four-day hearing to see what phrases came out of the judge’s — and the senators’ — mouths most often.
By the numbers, Judge Alito’s language was painfully cautious. He mentioned “stare decisis ” — respect for precedents (i.e., Roe v. Wade ) 68 times. But he mentioned “abortion” only 23 times and hardly used the word “overturn” at all.

The significance of such word usage can be downplayed as deliberate manipulation, e.g., that he intended to create the false impression he would be tremendously conservative about honoring precedent — even at the expense of “conservative” causes in which he might personally believe.

But what about this:

[O]ne thing united lawmakers on both sides: reverence for the first person. Republicans used the “I” word 1,180 times. Democrats used it 1,123 times. Combined, they used it well more than the nominee, who said “I” 1,907 times.

To me, that hints that the Senators were full of themselves and what they think, want, and believe, but Alito’s responses were oriented significantly less towards himself and more towards objective views of law and legal process. An appropriate distinction between these branches of government, and seemingly one that would come out in speech relatively spontaneously — a good judge simply becomes less likely to address issues in terms of phrases like “I think . . .” I hope. . .

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