Nolan v. Fitzpatrick’s Empirical Analysis
451 F.2d 545 · 1971
Citation profile
37 federal appellate · 11 district · 3 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 72 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently February 2001 · most notably Procunier v. Martinez (1974), United States v. Philip Berrigan, in No. 72-1938, and Elizabeth McAlister Appeal of Elizabeth McAlister In (1973)
37 federal appellate · 11 district · 3 state decisions
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.
Relationships
Applies 28 U.S.C. § 1343 · 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))
Relies on United States v. O'Brien · Cantwell v. State of Connecticut · Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · Price v. Johnston · Johnson v. Avery
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 72 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he condition of our prisons is an important matter of public policy as to which prisoners are, with their wardens, peculiarly interested and peculiarly knowledgeable. The argument that the prisoner has the right to communicate his grievances to the press and, through the press, to the public is thus buttressed by the invisibility of prisons to the press and the public: the prisoners’ right to speak is enhanced by the right of the public to hear.”
6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“the court held that prisoners have a right to send letters to the press concerning prison management, treatment of offenders or personal grievances.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“since the policy can at any time be changed,”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Avant v. Clifford
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.