In Re Herman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “An accredited officer or agent of the Department of Human Services of the District of Columbia, or an officer authorized to make arrests in the District of Columbia, or a physician or qualified psychologist of the person in question, who has reason to believe that a person is mentally ill and, because of the illness, is likely to injure himself [or herself] or others if he [or she] is not immediately detained may, without a warrant, take the person into custody, transport him [or her] to a public or private hospital, and make application for his [or her] admission thereto for purposes of emergency observation and diagnosis. The application shall reveal the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody and the reasons therefor.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Matter of Herman

2. “Excusal in certain circumstances of defects in applications for involuntary admission raises significant concern. It could encourage sloppiness in compliance with the statutory provisions, designed in part to protect the rights of those who may exhibit signs of mental illness but not in fact be in need of hospitalization. Although other remedies, such as liability in tort, may perhaps lie in cases where the statutory requirements have not been met, fairness in the overall operation of the statutory scheme depends upon a scrupulous attempt by all concerned to adhere to both the spirit and the letter of the law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Matter of Herman

3. “A petition, application, or certificate of a physician or qualified psychologist may not be considered unless it is based on personal observation and examination of the alleged mentally ill person made by the physician or qualified psychologist not more than 72 hours prior to the making of the petition, application, or certificate. The certificate shall set forth in detail the facts and reasons on which the physician or qualified psychologist based his [or her] opinions and conclusions.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Matter of Herman