Miller v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A law enforcement officer may not arrest or issue a traffic information and summons to a person for a violation of an Indiana law regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway or an ordinance of a city or town regulating the use and operation of a motor vehicle on an Indiana highway unless at the time of the arrest the officer is: (1) wearing a distinctive uniform and a badge of authority; or (2) operating a motor vehicle that is clearly marked as a police vehicle; that will clearly show the officer or the officer's vehicle to casual observations to be an officer or a police vehicle. This section does not apply to an officer making an arrest when there is a uniformed officer present at the time of the arrest. (emphasis added). Based on this statutory language, Hatcher asserts that the officer issuing his traffic citations lacked the authority to do so. In particular, Hatcher's primary defense in contesting the issuance of the traffic citations was that he was not under "arrest;" and therefore, Sergeant Ruby did not have the authority to issue him the citations because she was neither wearing a distinctive uniform and badge of authority nor operating a motor vehicle that was clearly marked as a police vehicle. Hatcher's argument appears to recognize that an officer need not be uniformed or in a marked police vehicle as set forth in Indiana Code § 9-30-22 if the officer is accompanied by other officers who are uniformed. However, he insists that this”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hatcher v. State

2. “[T]he obvious intent of the legislature, in enacting I1.C. 9-80-2-2, [was] to ensure that the law enforeement officers who enforce our traffic laws are either wearing a uniform and badge or driving a marked car when they effect an arrest or issue a traffic citation. Such requirements are good public policy in that they help to distinguish law enforcement officers from those individuals on our highways who, for illicit purposes, impersonate law enforcement officers.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hatcher v. State