Bibbo v. Mulhern’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 13 district · 3 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Local governing bodies, therefore, can be sued directly under § 1983 for monetary ... relief where, as here, the action that is alleged to be unconstitutional implements or executes a policy statement, ordinance, regulation, or decision officially adopted and promulgated by that body’s officers. Moreover, although the touchstone of the § 1983 action against a government body is an allegation that official policy is responsible for a deprivation of rights protected by the Constitution, local governments, like every other § 1983 “person,” by the very terms of the statute, may be sued for constitutional deprivations visited pursuant to governmental “custom” even though such a custom has not received formal approval through the body’s official decisionmak-ing channels.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 783 F. Supp. 1475 - Maguire v. Municipality of Old Orchard Beach

2. “[The teacher] is accused of yelling and screaming at students, using foul language, telling students that their handwriting “sucks”, telling students that “if you had one eye and half a brain, you could do this,” calling students “stupid,” and referring to students as “bimbos,” “fatso,” and the “welfare bunch.” Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, [the teacher] clearly used inappropriate language in his elementary classroom, and while we are appalled at his demeaning and belittling references to his students, his use of patently offensive language did not violate his students’ constitutional rights. Verbal abuse is normally not a constitutional violation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 148 F. Supp. 2d 542 - S.M. v. Lakeland School District

3. “Certainly being humiliated, denigrated and frightened by the local police is an experience nobody should have to endure.... The Fourteenth Amendment does not protect against all intrusions of one’s peace of mind, however. Despicable and wrongful as it may have been, [this behavior] was not the kind of conduct for which the due process clause provides redress....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Jenness v. Nickerson