DeWald v. Wyner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““First, the public official must show that the acts complained of were ‘within the scope of his discretionary authority when the allegedly wrongful acts occurred.’ Second, the plaintiff must show that the public official’s actions ‘violated clearly established constitutional law.’ Rich v. Dollar, 841 F.2d 1558, 1563-64 (11th Cir.1988). Clearly established law must be determined ‘through the eyes of an objective, reasonable government of ficial.’ Nicholson v. Georgia Dept. of Human Resources, 918 F.2d 145, 147 (11th Cir.1990).” After a public official has shown that he was acting within his discretionary authority when the event occurred, the burden then shifts to the plaintiff to establish that the official’s actions violated clearly established constitutional law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Vaughan v. Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

2. “shields `all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 696 So. 2d 370 - Brescher v. Pirez

3. “[i]f applicable law is unsettled, immunity necessarily results.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 693 So. 2d 586 - Junior v. Reed