Dickinson v. Davis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"discretion is not a magic word. It is only a range of responsible choice in pursuing one or several objectives more or less broadly indicated by the legislature (or, in Oregon, sometimes by the people themselves) under various circumstances pertinent to those objectives. This applies to a discretionary choice of sanctions just as to other delegated authority."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Clark

2. “[A]rticulation of the commissioner's reasons and their application to the case facilitates development of consistent agency policies as the legislature presumably intended, as well as equality of treatment, at least until the Commissioner adopts a reasoned change of policy.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Veco Intern. v. Alaska Pub. Off. Com'n

3. “precisely because an agency may see mitigation or remission as acts of grace, and by its mere inaction may impose the maximum penalty, these decisions represent greater threats of irrationality, inequality, and misuse.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Veco Intern. v. Alaska Pub. Off. Com'n