Service v. Dulles’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 federal appellate ·

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

1. “This Court cannot, of course, review the correctness of the former Secretary of State’s determination. Its function is limited to determining whether any procedural requirement of the statute was violated in plaintiff’s discharge. Under [§ 103 of the Appropriations Act] there was one procedural requirement: that the Secretary of State must determine in his discretion that the termination of plaintiff’s employment was necessary or advisable in the interests of the United States.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. John Doe v. William J. Casey, Director, C.I.A.

2. “Notwithstanding the provisions of [the Lloyd-LaFollette Act], or the provisions of any other law, the Secretary of State may, in his absolute discretion, ... terminate the employment of any officer or employee of the Department of State or of the Foreign Service of the United States whenever he shall deem such termination necessary or advisable in the interests of the United States.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. John Doe v. William J. Casey, Director, C.I.A.

3. “[a]fter careful consideration of the matter, [the Director] determined that the termination of Mr. Doe's employment was necessary and advisable in the interests of the United States.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Doe v. Casey