Marcum v. McWhorter’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 federal appellate · 1 district · 1 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Based on the historical treatment of adultery, a right to engage in an intimate sexual relationship with the spouse of another cannot be said to be either deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition or implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Thus, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bowers , we decline to accord Mar-cum’s adulterous relationship the constitutional protection afforded those intimate associations which receive protection as a fundamental element of personal liberty.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 327 F. Supp. 2d 863 - Cawood v. Haggard · 260 F. Supp. 2d 1191 - Caruso v. City of Cocoa, Florida

2. “The personal affiliations that exemplify these considerations, and that therefore suggest some relevant limitations on the relationships that might be entitled to this sort of constitutional protection, are those that attend the creation and sustenance of a family — marriage, childbirth, the raising and education of children, and cohabitation with one’s relatives. Family relationships, by their nature, involve deep attachments and commitments to the necessarily few other individuals with whom one shares not only a special community of thoughts, experiences, and beliefs but also distinctively personal aspects of one’s life. Among other things, therefore, they are distinguished by such attributes as relative smallness, a high degree of selectivity in decisions to begin and maintain the affiliation, and seclusion from others in critical aspects of the relationship. As a general matter, only relationships with these sorts of qualities are likely to reflect the considerations that have led to an understanding of freedom of asso ciation as an intrinsic element of personal liberty.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Ex Parte Morales

3. “[tjhere is a broad spectrum of relationships between those that are most likely entitled to constitutional protection from state interference, such as close family relationships, and those that are not... .To determine whether a particular association is sufficiently personal or private to warrant constitutional protection, courts must consider size, purpose, selectivity, and whether others are excluded from the critical aspects of the relationship.” Id. at 643 . He further concluded,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 327 F. Supp. 2d 863 - Cawood v. Haggard