471 So. 2d 147 - DA v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

54 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 55 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) It is unlawful for any person to loiter or prowl in a place, at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity. (2) Among the circumstances which may be considered in determining whether such alarm or immediate concern is warranted is the fact that the person takes flight upon appearance of a law enforcement officer, refuses to identify himself or herself, or manifestly endeavors to conceal himself or herself or any object. Unless flight by the person or other circumstance makes it impracticable, a law enforcement officer shall, prior to any arrest for an offense under this section, afford the person an opportunity to dispel any alarm or immediate concern which would otherwise be warranted by requesting the person to identify himself or herself and explain his or her presence and conduct. No person shall be convicted of an offense under this section if the law enforcement officer did not comply with this procedure or if it appears at trial that the explanation given by the person is true and, if believed by the officer at the time, would have dispelled the alarm or immediate concern.”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. A.D. v. State · TT v. State

2. “amount to an imminent breach of the peace or an imminent threat to the public safety.”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. CHS v. State · SP v. State

3. “[T]he statute is forward-looking, rather than backward-looking in nature. Its purpose is to punish a certain type of incipient criminal behavior before it ripens into the commission or attempted commission of a substantive criminal act.... [A]s stated in the comment to Section 250.6 of the Model Penal Code upon which the statute is patterned, ... “[t]his formulation limits the offense to its essential law enforcement rationale of justifying intervention to prevent incipient crime....””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Geoffrey Madge v. State · 200 So. 3d 196 - Adam Acevedo v. State