 A study of Supreme Court cases during the first six terms of the Roberts Court ( 2005 @-@ 2010 ) resolving circuit splits found that the Supreme Court upheld the view held by the majority of circuits in 51 @.@ 5 percent of all cases . This same study found the greatest agreement when deciding legal issues between the Fifth and Tenth circuits ( 80 @.@ 6 percent ) , the First and Second circuits ( 73 @.@ 5 percent ) , and the Fifth and Fourth circuits ( 73 @.@ 0 percent ) . The circuit courts that agreed the least frequently were the Ninth and Fourth circuits ( 39 @.@ 0 percent ) and the Ninth and Seventh circuits ( 39 @.@ 2 percent ) . Additionally , a study analyzing cases from the 2010 term found that nearly two thirds of Supreme Court decisions resolving circuit splits were decided unanimously or by an 8 @-@ 1 vote . Historically , the Supreme Court has reversed a high percentage of cases from the Ninth Circuit . In the 1996 @-@ 1997 term , the Supreme Court reversed twenty seven out of twenty eight cases on review from the Ninth Circuit . Marybeth Herald attributes this high reversal rate to the Ninth Circuit 's liberal reputation , and former United States senator Conrad Burns claims the Ninth Circuit is " out of step " with the rest of the nation . 
