While most of the more recent examples I've seen around the Web seem to prefer placing an open/close carat icon before its corresponding menu/selection label, there seems to be no standard on whether this is in fact better or worse than placing the carat after the label.
This example from Gmail's left sidebar illustrates the issue -- both examples are being used in adjoining interfaces:
I tend to follow the mantra that consistency is key, but this is a pattern that seems to lack consistency all over the place. Any arguments one way or the other?