Peele v. Burch’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate ·

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

1. “[T]he “motivating factor” requirement splits the burden of production between the parties on summary judgment. The plaintiff has the initial burden to produce evidence that his speech was at least a “motivating factor” in the employer’s decision to take adverse action against him—or, in philosophical terms, a “sufficient condition” of the retaliation. The defendant may then rebut that evidence by demonstrating that the harm would have occurred anyway, even without the protected conduct—or, in other words, that his conduct was not a necessary condition of the harm; Put another way, [the plaintiff] must first provide evidence that the defendants were motivated, at least in part, by a desire to retaliate against him for his protected speech. If he does, then the defendants may counter by showing that they would have reached the same result even without the protected speech.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 186 F. Supp. 3d 884 - Spalding v. City of Chicago

2. “protected conduct was a motivating factor”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Swanson v. Vill. of Frederic