Howe v. Brown’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““[1] In view of the principle, implicit in the federal concept, that the states have broad powers to legislate in areas of their competence, the Supreme Court of the United States has historically exercised restraint in reviewing state legislation creating reasonable classifications of individuals in order to promote legitimate state interests. Thus, as a General Rule, where, a state legislates within areas of its competence, where its legislation is nondiscriminatory on its face and as applied, and where its legislation does not impinge upon the federal constitutional rights of any citizens, any classification created by the legislation survives scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause so long as the classification is ‘rationally related’ to promoting a legitimate state interest, and is reasonable. This general standard for reviewing state legislation challenged under the Equal Protection Clause, is known as the ‘rational relation’ test.” (emphasis added)”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Fontham v. McKeithen · Matter of Bloom

2. ““Kramer and its progeny stand for the following proposition: Persons who qualify under a state’s valid election laws (by meeting its conditions of suffrage, i. e., age, residency, and citizenship requirements) have a constitutional right to vote in all state and local elections in which they have an interest. No state legislation or constitution may impinge upon this constitutional right to vote once qualified by ‘selectively excluding’ a class of otherwise qualified electors from voting in any election in which they have an interest, unless the ‘compelling state interest’ test is satisfied; that is, the classification of otherwise qualified voters excluded must be ‘necessary’ to promote a ‘compelling state interest’. * * * * * * “Thus, in Kramer v. Union Free School District, supra, the classification had the effect of ‘fencing out’ otherwise qualified voters because of the way they might vote on financing of schools. In Carrington v. Rash * * *, which we have not synthesized, the classification had the articulated state purpose of ‘fencing out’ otherwise qualified electors, who happened also to be military personnel, because of the way military personnel tend to vote. In Evans v. Cornman, supra, and Cipriano v. City of Houma, supra, the states ‘fenced out’ otherwise qualified voters for no legitimate reason whatever. And in City of Phoenix, Ariz. v. Kolodziejski, supra, the state ‘fenced out’ otherwise qualified voters who did not own real property who, therefore, might ten”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ferguson v. Williams

3. “"We find that the one-year residency requirement is not unreasonable, and that it is rationally related to promoting a legitimate state interest. Legitimate state interests that could be promoted by such a requirement are: ensuring that those who vote for state and local representatives are familiar with the political candidates and issues, by having been given maximum exposure to the problems of the locality through the media of local communication; preventing individuals, motivated only by a desire to affect the state's election results, from `moving' into the state shortly before the election is held, voting, and then returning to their foreign domicile; ensuring that the electors have genuine interests in community affairs. The lines drawn by the distinctions are not infallible, but they need not be, so long as they are rationally related to these interests. McGowan v. Maryland, supra . "”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Fontham v. McKeithen