Leonard v. Texas’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 6 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Modern civil forfeiture statutes are plainly designed, at least in part, to punish the owner of property used for criminal purposes.... [C]ivil forfeiture has in recent decades become widespread and highly profitable.... And because the law enforcement entity responsible for seizing the property often keeps it, these entities have strong incentives to pursue forfeiture.... This system - where police can seize property with limited judicial oversight and retain it for their own use - has led to egregious and well-chronicled abuses.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Washington v. Marion Cnty. Prosecutor · Michael Hodges v. State of Indiana

2. “frequently target the poor and other groups least able to defend their interests in forfeiture proceedings”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. In The Matter Of Property Seized From Bo (Brian) Li, Na Tian, And Wei Tian · In the Matter of Property Seized from Jean Carlos Herrera and Fernando Rodriguez

3. “Partially as a result of this distinct legal regime, civil forfeiture has in recent decades become widespread and highly profitable, And because the law enforcement entity responsible for seizing the property often keeps it, these entities have strong incentives to pursue forfeiture,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. 1997 Chevrolet & Contents Seized From Young