Hatton v. Bonner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Hatton’s repeated assertion that the notice he signed upon his release from prison in 1983 actually informed him that “he had no duty to register” can only be embraced by engaging in a wild departure from common sense. Hatton points to a fine print boilerplate paragraph on a 1983 Department of Justice form bearing the caption “WHO MUST REGISTER 290 PC” which recites a list of sex crimes, none of which included assault with intent to commit oral copulation. His argument requires us to assume, without supporting evidence, that Hatton not only read the boilerplate, but applied the doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius to conclude that he had no duty to register, despite the fact that same form was entitled “Notice of Felony Registration Requirement” and told him in no uncertain terms that he did have a duty to register.... The notion is nonsensical. There is nothing in the record showing Hatton read, much less relied, upon the fine print boilerplate.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hatton v. Bonner