From the last graph, it seems like the rate of change (if that's what you'd call it) is closely related to the time period in which the change is taking place, or at least the time period in which the change started. I wonder if this has to do with a general increase in malleability of (judicial) opinions, or faster information transfer, or something else.
Perhaps it's a sampling bias - a slow change that started recently may not yet have been detected to be included on the graph (or may not have enough reliable data to support inclusion).
