In re Sealed Case’s Empirical Analysis
146 F.3d 881 · 1998
Citation profile
33 federal appellate · 68 district · 4 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 129 later decisions — most recently July 2019 · most notably Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Successor in Interest to New England Merchants Leasing Corporation, Etc. v. Ogden Corporation (2000), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lutheran Social Services (1999)
33 federal appellate · 68 district · 4 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 2 U.S.C. § 431 (§ 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971)
Relies on Hickman v. Taylor · United States v. Nobles · Perlman v. United States · SafeCard Services, Inc. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · Coastal States Gas Corporation v. Department of Energy
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 129 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“'because of' test, asking whether, in light of the nature of the document and the factual situation in the particular case, the document can fairly be said to have been prepared or obtained because of the prospect of litigation.”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“In performing his various duties ... it is essential that a lawyer work with a certain degree of privacy, free from unnecessary intrusion by opposing parties and their counsel. Proper preparation of a client’s case demands that he assemble information, sift what he considers to be the relevant from the irrelevant facts, prepare his legal theories and plan his strategy without undue and needless interference .... This work is reflected, of course, in interviews, statements, memoranda, correspondence, briefs, mental impressions, personal beliefs, and countless other tangible and intangible ways — aptly though roughly termed by the Circuit Court of Appeals in this case as the ‘Work product of the lawyer.’ Were such materials open to opposing counsel on mere demand, much of what is now put down in writing would remain unwritten.... The effect on the legal profession would be demoralizing. And the interests of the clients and the cause of justice would be poorly served.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“[L]acking resources to pursue every suspected violation of federal law, the government must depend on effective, conscientious private lawyers to help clients comply voluntarily. The government might gain some short term benefit by obtaining documents in this case, but the long-range consequences could be quite damaging. Weakening the ability of lawyers to represent clients at the pre-claim stage of anticipated litigation would inevitably reduce voluntary compliance with the law, produce more litigation, and increase the workload of government law-enforcement agencies.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.