Lovvorn’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 7 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We believe there must be a focus on the particular nature of the employment sector to be tested. More specifically, there must be an inquiry into the harm that will result to society if mandatory drug tests are not allowed in that industry. The higher the cost and the more irretrievable the loss, the stronger the argument for finding reasonable the initiation of a drug testing program. We believe society has a right to protect itself from the infliction of irretrievable catastrophic losses. When determining whether any search is reasonable, there must be consideration of the benefits that inure from the existence of that search. As the harm to society of not conducting the search of an individual increases to potentially catastrophic levels, the less willing is society to consider reasonable that individual’s subjective expectations of privacy. Not only must there be an analysis of the potential harm to society of an impaired employee in a given sector, but there must also be a determination of the extent to which mandatory drug testing will decrease the risk of such harm being imposed on society. Implicit in this analysis, of course, is the question of how incompatible is job performance in that sector with the usage of illegal drugs. Also implicit in this inquiry is the question of how often a drug test will register positive though the tested employee is not in fact impaired on the job.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Ass'n v. State Racing Commission · 704 F. Supp. 808 - Ensor v. Rust Engineering Co.

2. ““[t]he act of urinating is one of the most private of all activities. The subjective expectation of privacy felt by ' many individuals when urinating is undoubtedly one that society is prepared to consider reasonable. There are few other times where individuals insist as strongly and universally that they be let alone to act in private. Furthermore, the information that may be gleaned from the analysis of an individual’s urine compels the conclusion that a mandatory urinalysis, whether directly observed or not, constitutes a ‘search’ within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. City of Annapolis v. United Food Workers, Local 400 · Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Ass'n v. State Racing Commission

3. ““Fighting fires is perhaps the most dangerous and hazardous of all professions. It is imperative that those who are charged with the public responsibility of extinguishing fires, sometimes risking their own lives for the sake of someone trapped, be free of the debilitating influences of controlled substances. It is well established that the use of such substances, such as marijuana, can adversely affect one’s perception, decision-making time, short-term memory, motor skills, and judgment. Firefighters so affected become a risk to themselves, their fellow fire fighters, and those depending on them for rescue. We have no hesitation, therefore, in recognizing the compelling nature of the City’s interests in keeping its fire fighters free from the effects of illegal drugs.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. City of Annapolis v. United Food Workers, Local 400