Moore v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

27 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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “There is no rule of construction which requires the same meaning always to be given to the same word, when used in different connections and in the same statute or in different statutes. On the contrary, such is the flexibility of language and the want of fixity in many of our commonest expressions, that a word or phrase may bear very different meanings according to the connection in which it is found. Hence the rule that the terms of a statute are always to be interpreted with references to the subject-matter of the enactment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Preston v. State

2. “We begin our analysis by first looking to the normal, plain meaning of the language of the statute, reading the statute as a whole to ensure that no word, clause, sentence or phrase is rendered surplusage, superfluous, meaningless or nugatory. If the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous, we need not look beyond the statute’s provisions and our analysis ends---- [W]e may find useful the context of a statute, the overall statutory scheme, and archival legislative history of relevant enactments.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Preston v. State

3. “frequently stated that '[w]e will not ... judicially insert language [into a statute] to impose exceptions, limitations, or restrictions not set forth by the legislature'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 236 Md. App. 456 - Carter v. State