Tripp v. Cole’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 12 district · 1 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[w]here a public employee speaks out on a topic which is clearly a legitimate matter of inherent concern to the electorate, the court may eschew further inquiry into the employee’s motives as revealed by the “form and context” of the expression. On the other hand, public-employee speech on a topic which would not necessarily qualify, on the basis of its content alone, as a matter of inherent public concern (e.g., internal working conditions, affecting only the speaker and co-workers), may require a more complete Connick analysis into the form and context of the public employee expression, “as revealed by the whole record,” with a view to whether the community has in fact manifested a legitimate concern in the internal workings of the particular agency or department of government, and if so, whether the “form” of the employee’s expression suggests a subjective intent to contribute to any such public discourse.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Colon-Perez v. Department of Health of Puerto Rico · Jordan v. Carter

2. “`the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record,' whether the employee was speaking `as a citizen upon matters of public concern,' or, alternatively, `as an employee upon matters only of personal interest,'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Jordan v. Carter

3. “(1) [s]he engaged in activity protected by the [M]WPA; (2)[s]he experienced an adverse employment action; and (3) a causal connection existed between the protected activity and the adverse employment action.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 787 F. Supp. 2d 89 - Bodman v. Maine, Department of Health & Human Services