Brown v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

58 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 58 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “As originally introduced the bill that became Article 727a excluded evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas and, concomitantly, its emergency clause declared “that there has been used against citizens of this state evidence obtained in violation of the Constitution of the State of Texas and that there is now no statute expressly forbiding the same ...” By amendment after “Texas” was inserted the words “or of the United States of America.” Thus, as finally enacted, the statutory exclusionary rule required Texas Courts to hold inadmissible any evidence obtained in violation of State or Federal Constitutions or laws.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Dees v. State · Tin Man Lee v. State

2. “... [T]his Court has opted to interpret our Constitution in harmony with the Supreme Court's opinions interpreting the Fourth Amendment. We shall continue on this path until such time as we are statutorily or constitutionally mandated to do otherwise.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burkes v. State · Osban v. State

3. “Thus, when the Supreme Court of Texas imported a definition of probable cause from a sister state to apply in the malicious prosecution part of the cause being decided in Landa v. Obert, [ 45 Tex. 539 (1876) ], that it had originated in a federal trial court did not mean the Supreme Court had “opted” to follow an expression of federal law, but only the Supreme Court looked around and found elsewhere what it deemed to be a reasonably acceptable definition, having none of its own making at the time.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Johnson v. State