The Evolution of State Supreme Courts

Part I of this Article describes in broad quantitative terms the changing relationship between the caseload of supreme courts and the population of the states in which these courts sit. Part II examines the various means states used to control supreme court caseloads, the political problems involved, and the types of courts that have resulted. Part III presents evidence that changes in court organization in response to caseload pressure are accompanied by changes in the kinds of cases state supreme courts hear, the style of their opinions, and the results of the cases

Interstratal dewatering origin for polygonal patterns of sand-filled cracks: a case study from late Proterozoic metasediments of Islay, Scotland

Sand-filled cracks from the Lower Fine-grained Quartzite of Dalradian (late Proterozoic) age on the Island of Islay, western Scotland, may be divided into two main types, both of which form orthogonal and non-orthogonal closed patterns on bedding surfaces. Type 1 cracks are short and lenticular in cross-section, contain sand which had been injected downwards, and are found on the bottoms of cross-laminated sandstone beds. Type 2 cracks cut several beds and preserve evidence of upward flow of water-saturated sand. Both types of crack developed through the interstratal intrusion of water-saturated sand into shrinkage cracks in mud or muddy sand, not, as previously thought, as a result of sub-aerial desiccation, or sub-aqueous cracking of the sediment surface (synaeresis). These cracks likely resulted from layer-parallel contraction caused by compaction of mudstone layers during burial. Seismic shock may have provided the trigger for the preferential development of polygonal crack patterns in these layers instead of the more usual small-scale dewatering structures. From a detailed comparison with published descriptions of filled cracks from a number of different geological environments, it is concluded that interstratal cracking is a mechanism which rivals sub-aerial desiccation in importance, and is more common in the geological record than is currently realized

The Evolution of State Supreme Courts

Part I of this Article describes in broad quantitative terms the changing relationship between the caseload of supreme courts and the population of the states in which these courts sit. Part II examines the various means states used to control supreme court caseloads, the political problems involved, and the types of courts that have resulted. Part III presents evidence that changes in court organization in response to caseload pressure are accompanied by changes in the kinds of cases state supreme courts hear, the style of their opinions, and the results of the cases