United States v. Solnick’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “At a minimum, R.C.M. 1107(a) establishes the requirement that there must [be] a practical reason for transferring a case from the control of the officer who convened the court to a superior after the trial has been held and precludes a superior from “plucking” a case out of the hands of the convening authority for an improper reason. When Congress amends a statute to add language stating that taking the post-trial action “is a matter of command prerogative involving the sole discretion of the convening authority” are we to say that Congress intended to make acting on the case so completely fungible that any OEGCMJ can act in place of the convening authority at any time-even when the convening authority is ready, willing, and able to act on the case himself?”

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

2. “The authority under this section to modify the findings and sentence of a court-martial is a matter of command prerogative involving the sole discretion of the convening authority. Under regulations of the Secretary concerned, a commissioned officer commanding for the time being, a successor in command, or any person exercising general court-martial jurisdiction may act under this section in place of the convening authority.”

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