People v. Case’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 federal appellate · 12 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 50 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A fair reading of this section can yield but one conclusion. The operative obstruction may be accomplished ‘by means of intimidation, physical force or interference, or by means of any independently unlawful act.’ If it be ‘interference’, then it must be physical interference, as ‘physical’ modifies ‘interference’ in the statute. The word ‘interference’ is not cast in isolation, it is part of the phrase ‘physical force or interference’, a phrase separated from the rest of the sentence by comma punctuation. The disjunctive ‘or’ in said phrase joins ‘force’ and ‘interference’ and is distinct from the ‘or’ following the word ‘interference’, which latter disjunctive is placed before the last in the series of the obstructive means. It simply makes no sense to read ‘interference’ in solitary, apart from its modifier ‘physical’, for by so doing the reader must of necessity disregard the punctuated structure of the statute,””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. D.A.D.O. v. State · Wachtler v. County of Herkimer

2. ““A person is guilty of .obstructing governmental administration when he intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts the administration of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from performing an official function, by means of intimidation, physical force or interference, or by means of any independently unlawful act .... ””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Dancy v. McGinley · D.A.D.O. v. State

3. “By attempting to restore order, the police were performing an official function within the meaning of Penal Law § 195.05; However, “interference” under that statute must be in part at least, physical in nature. Appellant did not struggle or do anything to interfere with the. police, and he did not intrude himself into, or get in the way of, an ongoing police activity. Any physical contact between appellant and an officer was initiated by the officer. Appellant’s failure to comply with the order to disperse, without more, lacked the requisite intentional physical component.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mediavilla v. City of New York