State v. Mallory’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[T]he essence of all that has been written is that the totality of the circumstances— the whole picture — must be taken into account. Based upon that whole picture the detaining officers must have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity. [Cites omitted.] The idea that an assessment of the whole picture must yield a particularized suspi cion contains two elements, each of which must be present before a stop is permissible. First, the assessment must be based upon all the circumstances. The analysis proceeds with various objective observations, information from police reports, if such are available, and consideration of the modes or patterns of operation of certain kinds of lawbreakers. From these data, a trained officer draws inferences and makes deductions — inferences and deductions that might well elude an untrained person. The process does not deal with hard certainties, but with probabilities ... the evidence thus collected must be seen and weighed not in terms of library analysis by scholars, but as understood by those versed in the field of law enforcement. The second element ... is the concept that the process just described must raise a suspicion that the particular individual being stopped is engaged in wrongdoing_ (Emphasis added.)”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Menard · State v. Sorenson

2. “We do not believe that this is an appropriate case in which to attempt to address in detail the issue of when race is a valid factor in a police officer’s decision to investigate, approach, stop, detain and/or arrest a person. * * * Suffice it to say, our examination of the records satisfies us that there was a particular ized and objective basis for suspecting the occupant(s) of the car of criminal activity, and accordingly we conclude that the stop was valid.”

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