214 Ill. 2d 338 - People v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

48 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 48 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “`when, by means of physical force or a show of authority,'”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 358 Ill. App. 3d 121 - People v. Cordero · 221 Ill. 2d 1 - People v. White

2. “The appellate court believed that, because Mendenhall stated that courts should look to the totality of the circumstances in determining whether a seizure had occurred, the court must conduct a `practical, realistic' inquiry to determine if a reasonable person would have felt free to leave and that the court should not focus on rigid, technical rules such as the Mendenhall factors. [Citation.] The problem with this view is that, immediately after Mendenhall said that a person is seized if `in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave' [citation], it elaborated on how courts are to make that determination. The lead opinion listed several factors that are generally indicative of a seizure, said that in the absence of some such evidence otherwise inoffensive contact between a member of the public and the police is not a seizure, and then concluded that no seizure had occurred because those factors were not present. [Citation.] This court expressly adopted those factors in Murray . The `in view of all the circumstances' language must be read in concert with, not in opposition to, the factors. [Citation.] The factors illustrate what type of police conduct would give a reasonable person an objective reason to believe that he or she was not free to leave or was not free to decline an officer's requests.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 231 Ill. 2d 262 - People v. Cosby

3. “Indeed, Mendenhall itself used an analysis based on the absence of Mendenhall factors. The lead opinion listed the four factors, noted their absence, and then concluded that no seizure had occurred. [Citation.] From the very minute the Mendenhall factors were created, courts have used their absence to determine that seizures had not occurred. Even in the absence of cases such as Mendenhall, Murray, and Smith , it would seem self-evident that the absence of Mendenhall factors, while not necessarily conclusive, is highly instructive. If those factors are absent, that means that only one or two officers approached the defendant, they displayed no weapons, they did not touch the defendant, and they did not use any language or tone of voice indicating that compliance with their requests was compelled. Obviously, a seizure is much less likely to be found when officers approach a person in such an inoffensive manner.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 231 Ill. 2d 262 - People v. Cosby