United States v. Clark’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 federal appellate · 1 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It would, be extremely unwise for the civil courts to lay down general principles 'of law which would tend to impair that of the military arm, or which would seem to justify or commend conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. An army is a necessity — perhaps I ought to say an unfortunate necessity — under every system of government, and no civilized state in modem times has been able to dispense with one. To insure efficiency, an army must be, to a certain extent, a despotism. Each officer, from the general to the corporal, is invested with an arbitrary power over those beneath him, and the soldier who enlists in the army waives, in some particulars, his rights as a civilian, surrenders his personal liberty during the terms of his-- en- listmént; and consents to come and go at the will of his superior officers. He ^agrees to become amenable ito the military, courts, to he disciplined for offenses •unknown ¾ the civil law; .tq- relinquish his right of'trial by jury, and to receive punishments which, to the civilian, seem out of all proportion to the mag,'nitude of. the offense.” '' , . " .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Kirkman v. McClaughry

2. ““Except in a plain ease of excess of autbority, where, at first blush, it is apparent and palpable to the commonest understanding that the order is illegal, I cannot but think that the law should excuse the military subordinate when acting in obedience to the orders of his commander. The first duty of a soldier is obedience, and without this there can be neither discipline nor efficiency in an army. If every subordinate officer and soldier were at liberty to question the legality of the orders of the commander, and obey them or not, as they may consider them valid or invalid, the camp would be turned into a debating school, where the precious moment for action would he wasted in -wordy conflicts between the advocates of conflicting opinions.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In re Fair

3. “The acts of a subordinate done in compliance with an unlawful order given him by his superior are excused and impose no criminal liability upon him unless the superior’s order is one which a man of ordinary sense and understanding would, under the circumstances, know to be unlawful, or if the order in question is actually known to the accused to be unlawful.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Yunis