Commonwealth v. Rodriguez’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Roadblocks established for the purpose of interdicting drugs and other contraband essentially give to the police the same powers with respect to individuals in their automobiles as the writs of assistance granted to the British officials with respect to individuals in their homes. Viewed in light of the Commonwealth’s history, it is clear that the Holyoke roadblock is precisely the type of search that the drafters of art. 14 sought to prevent. Drug interdiction roadblocks stop citizens without probable cause or reasonable suspicion to look for evidence of criminal activity (in colonial times, untaxed goods). Such a search is precisely what James Otis and John Adams sought to prevent by art. 14. ‘Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it.” G. Santayana, The Life of Reason: 1905-1906.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 17 Mass. L. Rptr. 93 - Commonwealth v. Wade

2. “limited exceptions to the reasonable suspicion requirement where an intrusion is limited and serves a pressing public purpose.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 95 Mass. App. Ct. 103 - Commonwealth v. Judge