Richard Suppan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 district · 2 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 92 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “`need not be great in order to be actionable,'”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Laura Watson v. Borough of Susquehanna · Besler v. Board of Education

2. “sufficient 'to deter a person of ordinary firmness' from exercising his [constitutional] rights.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Rodriguez v. Thomas · McKee

3. “[I]f a plaintiff establishes that the exercise of his First Amendment rights played some substantial role in the relevant decision, he is entitled to the extent practicable to be put in the same position that he would have been in had he not engaged in that protected conduct. As a result, if the defendant is able to show by a preponderance of evidence that the same decision would have been made had the protected conduct not played, a substantial role, no relief will be required. On the other hand, if the protected conduct played a substantial role and the defendant is unable to carry its burden of showing the plaintiff has suffered no adverse consequences as a result, the plaintiff is entitled to be put in the same position he would have been in had the tainted decision been made in his favor.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Shehee v. City of Wilmington