Barton v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
609 F.2d 977 · 1979
Citation profile
25 federal appellate · 12 district · 5 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 52 later decisions — most recently November 2012 · most notably Miller v. United States (1983), Kiehn v. United States (1993)
25 federal appellate · 12 district · 5 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (Federal Tort Claims Act) · 28 U.S.C. § 2680 · 43 U.S.C. § 315 · 43 U.S.C. § 315B
Relies on Dalehite v. United States · Federal Communications Commission v. Home Box Office, Inc. · Hatahley v. United States · Leh v. General Petroleum Corp. · Brennan v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
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 52 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Concisely stated, the rule is that if a government official in performing his statutory duties must act without reliance upon a fixed or readily ascertainable standard, the decision he makes is discretionary and within the exception of the Tort Claims Act. Conversely, if there is a standard by which his action is measured, it is not within the exception. The statute provides that if the act of the official is discretionary it is not actionable even though the discretion is abused.”
16 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“... ‘the discretionary function or duty’ that cannot form a basis for suit under the Tort Claims Act includes more than the initiation of programs and activities. It also includes determinations made by executives or administrators in establishing plans, specifications, or schedules , of operations. Where there is room for policy judgment and decision there is discretion. (emphasis added)”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“exception, the court stated (Id. at 980): There are no fixed standards or guides by which the effect of drought on the range forage can be assessed for the purpose of determining whether grazing should be continued on public lands. It is wholly a matter of judgment of the BLM range officials and clearly within the discretionary exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act. (Emphasis supplied) A.L. Lewis Elementary School v. Metropolitan Dade County, supra, involved the failure of the county to establish speed zones, and to install traffic and pedestrian control devices”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.