388 So. 2d 561 - State v. Hamilton’s Empirical Analysis
1980
Citation profile
22 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 22 later decisions — most recently April 2016
22 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Broadrick v. Oklahoma · Smith v. Goguen · 262 So. 2d 881 - Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. State Ex Rel. Powell · 346 So. 2d 538 - State v. Dye · Stock v. State
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.
“A statute enacted for the public benefit should be construed liberally in favor of the public even though it contains a penal provision.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“The statute under which defendant was charged makes it a crime to cause pollution “so as to harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant or aquatic life or property.” § 403.16(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1977). Thus, criminal penalties are imposed only if the pollution causes actual harm. The legislature is free to define offenses by describing them in terms of their results. State v. Barone, 124 So.2d 490 (Fla.1960). The defendant is not charged with criminal liability for acts which create only a potential for injury. Cf. Stock v. State, 526 P.2d [3] at 10 [ (Alaska 1974) ] (defendant charged with violation of section of statute prohibiting alterations to water which were “potentially” as opposed to “actually” “harmful”, those types of pollution would not subject the actor to criminal liability. The definition of pollution is couched in commonly-used words which convey adequate warning of the proscribed conduct when read in conjunction with the section creating the offense. The legislature cannot be expected to list every possible substance which causes harm when present in sufficient quantities. This would be an impossible standard to meet and is not mandated by our constitution. State v. Dye, 346 So.2d 538 (Fla.1977); Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. State, 262 So.2d 881 (Fla. 1972). [Emphasis added].”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“It shall be a violation of this Chapter, and it shall be prohibited: (a) To cause pollution, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, so as to harm or injure human health or welfare, animal, plant, or aquatic life or property.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.