Alito by the Numbers
Every pattern quantified. Every claim verified. 100% data capture across 20 years of Supreme Court oral arguments.
Opening Words
How Alito begins each turn — "Well" leads at 16.9%.
| Opener | Count | % of Turns |
|---|---|---|
| Well | 2488 | 16.9% |
| But | 795 | 5.4% |
| -- (interruption) | 763 | 5.2% |
| What | 733 | 5.0% |
| I | 637 | 4.3% |
| So | 607 | 4.1% |
| And | 570 | 3.9% |
| All (right) | 406 | 2.8% |
| If | 376 | 2.6% |
| No | 325 | 2.2% |
| Yeah | 291 | 2.0% |
See the qualitative analysis of what “Well” means on Inside the Mind
Signature Phrases
Words and phrases that appear most frequently across all 14,691 turns.
| Phrase | Count | % of Turns |
|---|---|---|
| "but" | 3675 | 25.0% |
| "well," | 2986 | 20.3% |
| "suppose" | 921 | 6.3% |
| "what if" | 504 | 3.4% |
| "i think" | 504 | 3.4% |
| "the statute" | 402 | 2.7% |
| "let me" | 395 | 2.7% |
| "i understand" | 355 | 2.4% |
| "isn't that" | 323 | 2.2% |
| "hypothetical" | 162 | 1.1% |
Question vs. Statement
Not just a questioner — increasingly an asserter.
Turn Length Distribution
Nearly half his turns are 20 words or fewer — surgical precision.
Hypothetical Markers
The words that signal a hypothetical is coming — "suppose" leads at 5.2%.
| Marker | Turns | % of All Turns |
|---|---|---|
| "suppose" | 768 | 5.2% |
| "say that" | 528 | 3.6% |
| "what if" | 391 | 2.7% |
| "let's say" | 314 | 2.1% |
| "assume" | 162 | 1.1% |
| "hypothetical" | 143 | 1.0% |
See full hypotheticals deconstructed on The Hypothetical Machine
Follow-Up Patterns
What Alito does after an attorney responds — his follow-up arsenal.
| Pattern | Count | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pivots with "Well..." | 2209 | 17.5% |
| Launches new question | 1745 | 13.8% |
| Interrupts (--) | 977 | 7.7% |
| Pushes back with "But..." | 739 | 5.8% |
| Accepts "Okay/All right" | 629 | 5.0% |
| Self-reference "I..." | 607 | 4.8% |
| Reframes with "So..." | 588 | 4.6% |
| Affirms "Yes/Yeah/Right" | 462 | 3.7% |
| Rejects "No..." | 374 | 3.0% |
| Poses hypothetical | 228 | 1.8% |
Engagement Trend
He's gotten twice as engaged over time — from 2.0 turns/exchange in 2006 to 4.0 in 2024.
Average Alito turns per exchange by time period
Topic Engagement
Where Alito engages most deeply.
Average Alito turns per exchange by topic area
Distinctive Words
Words Alito uses far more frequently than the attorneys arguing before him.
| Word | Count | Ratio vs. Attorneys |
|---|---|---|
| "suppose" | 813 | 19.9x |
| "realistic" | 43 | 7.6x |
| "seem" | 187 | 5.7x |
| "ahead" | 129 | 5.6x |
| "okay" | 484 | 5.1x |
See These Numbers Come to Life
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