State v. Morgan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A. A law enforcement officer may stop a person in a public place whom he reasonably suspects is committing, has committed, or is about to commit an offense and may demand of him his name, address, and an explanation of his actions.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 136 So. 3d 1010 - State v. Robertson · State v. Martin

2. “Headlong flight — wherever it occurs — is the consummate act of evasion: It is not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing, but it is certainly suggestive of such.... Flight, by its very nature, is not “going about one’s business”; in fact, it is just the opposite. Allowing officers confronted with such flight to stop the fugitive and investigate further is quite consistent with the individual’s right to go about his business or to stay put and remain silent in the face of police questioning.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 136 So. 3d 1010 - State v. Robertson

3. “Although flight ... is, by itself, insufficient to justify an investigatory stop, we have held that this type of conduct may be highly suspicious and, therefore, may be one of the factors leading to a finding of reasonable cause.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State Ex Rel. Dm