State v. Swaingan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In the present case the trooper knew that two black males wearing jeans and denim jackets had committed the robbery and were believed to be driving a large white four door car eastbound on Highway 90. Trooper Willumitis spotted a large white-looking four door car and followed it; it was not until he was directly behind it that he realized the "white" car was a very, very pale blue. He realized further that two black males occupied the car, and that they were approximately three miles from the scene of the robbery, which had taken place some 15-17 minutes before. Under these circumstances, the trooper was justified in making the initial stop. Upon seeing the denim jacket and pants of the driver, the trooper's suspicions increased. We find nothing unreasonable about the stop under the totality of the circumstances. The fact that the car was actually pale blue instead of white is not significant in view of the fact that events occurred at midnight and the car was seen under artificial outdoor lighting, so that not only the cashier but the officer mistook the color for white, and that impression remained until the trooper came right upon the car itself.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 598 So. 2d 1202 - State v. Head