State v. Elliott’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"There is no record in New Mexico of the prosecution of openly consenting adults under the sodomy statute. Because consenting adults are not, in practice, subject to prosecution for sodomy, they are denied a forum in which to assert their own rights.... The fact that consenting adults in New Mexico have not, in practice, been subject to prosecution for sodomy does not demonstrate that their rights are not violated by the sodomy statute. The threat of prosecution remains. * * * * * * Since attack by consenting adults against infringement of their constitutional rights is impractical and unlikely, this Court can decide the constitutional question by analogy to the Raines exception to the rule of practice on standing to challenge a statute's constitutionality." 539 P.2d at 211 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 25 Ariz. App. 267 - State v. Callaway

2. “"Constitutional protection from governmental interference with sexual relations of married couples must extend also to unmarried, consenting adults. To allow the Legislature to regulate sexual practices between unmarried consenting adults, but not between married persons, would be to deny equal protection of the laws to the former, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment." (Emphasis in original) 539 P.2d at 213 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 25 Ariz. App. 267 - State v. Callaway

3. “police power does not extend to sodomitic acts between consenting adults”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Duncan