Estelle v. Gamble’s Empirical Analysis
1976
Citation profile
5,298 federal appellate · 2,293 district · 1,132 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 19,804 later decisions (138 by the Supreme Court) — most recently February 2026 · most notably Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly (2007), Graham v. Connor (1989)
5,298 federal appellate · 2,293 district · 1,132 state decisions — followed in 45 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Appellate journey
reviewedthe decision below (from Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))
Relies on Conley v. Gibson · Haines v. Kerner · Gregg v. Georgia · Palko v. State of Connecticut
Cited together with Bell v. Wolfish · Farmer v. Brennan · Harlow v. Fitzgerald · Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York · Whitley v. Albers
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 19,804 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.”
756 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.”
42 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
32 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.