Jackson v. Bair’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 1 district ·

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

1. “Although the Connick court did not elaborate on the relative weight to be accorded these three factors, this court has held that `content, subject-matter, is always the central aspect.'”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Harris v. City of Virginia Beach · Arvinger v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore

2. “The balancing element in particular requires great subleties [sic] of judgment in weighing the conflicting values and interests at stake This is so because both “public concern” and “public employer interests” are relative notions, varying in kind and degree in different situations. For this reason this balancing inquiry must take into account the particulars of each in the case at hand. Connick, 461 U.S. at 150 , 103 S.Ct. 1684 (“particularized balancing” required, although “difficult”). For while speech that “touche[s] upon matters of public concern in only a most limited sense ... does not require [a public employer to] tolerate action which his reasonably believe[s] would disrupt the office, undermine his authority, and destroy close working relationships,” 461 U.S. at 154 , 103 S.Ct. 1684 , other speech concededly disruptive of these interests might nevertheless be protected precisely because it directly touches upon matters of grave public concern. See, e.g., Pickering (open criticism of public employer’s allocation of public funds and method of informing public of revenue needs). Furthermore, where the public employer’s retaliatory action is taken in response to merely threatened rather than actual disruption of employer interests, the reasonableness of the employer’s perception must be weighed in the balance. For though protection of the right does not require the public employer always to await actual disruption before acting, see Jurgensen v. Fairfax County, 745 F.2”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Vollette v. Watson

3. “obviously matters of fundamental and rightful public concern.” Id. at 720 . 8 . Regarding the grievance procedures the question is the untoward elevation of some essentially private concerns to protected status and the concomitant expansion of judicial oversight which would result. Not every dispute rises to the level of a Platonic dialogue and not every perceived instance of unfairness rises to the level of a constitutional violation. To follow Connick does not entail a reversion back to the position espoused by Justice Holmes who wrote, while still on the state bench,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 691 F. Supp. 961 - Leachman v. Rector of the University of Virginia