In re Sealed Case’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 federal appellate · 3 district · 1 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 50 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We have repeatedly opted to correct plain sentencing errors that, if left uncorrected, would result in a defendant serving a longer sentence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. John · United States v. Brown

2. “[W]e have recognized that a division of authority on a given point may provide cause to question the plainness of an error, but we did so in cases lacking the kind of clear statutory language at issue here. Moreover, [this court has] not hesitated to deem an error involving clear language plain, even when another circuit considered the provision ambiguous enough to defeat a finding of plain error.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Laureys

3. “[T]he phrase “or the length of imprisonment” [would not] add anything that the term “imprisonment” on its own doesn’t already convey.... A sentencing court deciding to keep a defendant locked up for an additional month is, as to that month, in fact choosing imprisonment over release.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Story