George v. Evans’s Empirical Analysis
620 F.2d 495 · 1980
Citation profile
5
cited by 5 later decisions
January 1995
most recently cited
5 federal appellate ·
Relationships
Applies 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act of 1871 / Section 1983 (Ku Klux Klan Act))
Relies on Johnson v. Glick · Lee v. Texas · Sheffey v. Greer
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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“What constitutes cruel and unusual punishment is not easy to define. There are, however, three approaches which are used in determining whether a punishment is cruel and unusual. The first approach is to ask whether under all the circumstances the punishment in question is of such character as to shock the general conscience or to be intolerable to fundamental fairness. Secondly, a punishment may be cruel and unusual if it is greatly disproportionate to the offense for which it is imposed. Finally, a punishment may be cruel and unusual when, although applied in pursuit of a legitimate penal aim, it goes beyond that aim that is, when a punishment is unnecessarily cruel in view of the purpose for which it is used. Should you determine under any approach that plaintiff was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment you may find for him.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. George v. Evans
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.