Alexander v. Eeds’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 federal appellate ·

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

1. “[t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. This is not to say that an official action is protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in question has previously been held unlawful, ... but it is to say that in the light of preexisting law the unlawfulness must be apparent.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. James v. Mellen

2. “First, a court must decide whether a plaintiffs allegation, if true, establishes a violation of a clearly established right. Without an established right, qualified immunity is granted. Second, if the plaintiff has alleged a violation, the court must decide whether the conduct was objectively reasonable in light of clearly established law at the time of the incident.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Morgan v. Gusman

3. “all facts and inferences ... in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Boudreaux v. Swift Transportation Co.