United States v. Freeman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

68 federal appellate · 5 district · 8 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 85 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Federal law authorizes the Coast Guard to make inquires, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests upon the high seas and waters over which the United States has jurisdiction, for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the United States. For such purposes, commissioned, warrant, and petty officers may at any time go on board of any vessel subject to the jurisdiction, or to the operation of any law, of the United States, address inquiries to those on board, examine the ship’s documents and papers, and examine, inspect, and search the vessel and use all necessary force to compel compliance. 14 U.S.C. Sec. 89 (a) (1976). This law is constitutional United States v. One 43 Foot Sailing Vessel, 538 F.2d 694 (5th Cir. 1976), and pursuant to its authority, the Coast Guard may apprehend and board any vessel of the American flag. This authority is plenary when exercised beyond the twelve-mile limit; it need not be founded on any particularized suspicion. United States v. Odom, 526 F.2d 339, 341-42 (5th Cir. 1976); United States v. One 43 Foot Sailing Vessel, 405 F.Supp. 879, 882 (S.D.Fla.1975), aff’d. 538 F.2d 694 (5th Cir. 1976). The cases have recognized the power of the Coast Guard having boarded a vessel of the American flag, to conduct documentation and safety inspections. United States v. Hillstrom, 533 F.2d.209, 210 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038 , 97 S.Ct. 734 , 50 L.Ed.2d 749 (1977); Odom, 526 F.2d at 342 . If, durin”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Hilton · United States v. Hayes

2. “[T]here is a substantial distinction between a landlocked vehicle and a nautical vessel for Fourth Amendment purposes. First, the national frontiers of the oceans are much more difficult to police than the territorial boundaries of the land. The exact lines are difficult to discern and there is no limit to the numbers of fixed points of entry. It’s simply not practical to stop and inspect every vessel at the actual border, an imaginary line on the seas. Finally, the brief and routine Customs detention prompted by the legitimate concerns of government for the safe and lawful operation of vessels intrudes only minimally into the privacy of seafarers. [T]he authority embodied within § 1581 may be traced back to the commencement of the Republic when the First Congress statutorily granted Customs officials broad powers. The historical significance of the enactment of such Customs statutes by the same Congress which proposed the Fourth Amendment has been recognized by the Supreme Court. Clearly, members of the First Congress regarded neither seizures nor searches of the kind authorized by § 1581 “unreasonable” or embraced by the prohibition of the Fourth Amendment.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Williams · 488 F. Supp. 475 - United States v. Taylor

3. “Any officer of the customs may at any time go on board of any vessel ... within the customs waters ... and examine the manifest and other documents and papers and examine, inspect, and search the vessel or vehicle and every part thereof and any person, trunk, package, or cargo on board, and to this end may hail and stop such vessel or vehicle, and use all necessary force to compel compliance.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Serrano · United States v. One (1) 1982 28' International Vessel