Smith v. Ross’s Empirical Analysis
482 F.2d 33 · 1973
Citation profile
26 federal appellate · 3 district · 2 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 56 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently April 2024 · most notably Rizzo v. Goode (1976), 161 Ill. 2d 374 - Doe v. Calumet City (1994)
26 federal appellate · 3 district · 2 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 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act)) · 42 U.S.C. § 1985
Relies on Monroe v. Pape · Pierson v. Ray · Griffin v. Breckenridge · Cox v. State of Louisiana · Terminiello v. Chicago
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 56 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“We agree with appellants that a law enforcement officer can be liable under § 1983 when by his inaction he fails to perform a statutorily imposed duty to enforce the laws equally and fairly, and thereby denies equal protection to persons legitimately exercising rights guaranteed them under state or federal law. Acts of omission are actionable in this context to the same extent as are acts of commission.”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“particularly in view of the circumstances surrounding the passage of § 1983, including the concern for protecting Negroes from the widespread non-enforcement of state laws [citation omitted], the remedies provided in § 1983 are most appropriately extended to persons who, because of the unpopularity in their life-styles or the pervasiveness of racial animus in the community, are not protected in their attempt to enjoy peacefully and on an equal basis the civil rights guaranteed under the laws.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“acts of omission are actionable in this context to the same extent as acts of commission.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Durham v. Nu'Man
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.