Brown v. Detzner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Consider the fact that many states do not engage in any form of early voting. Following Plaintiffs’ theory to its next logical step, it would seem that if a state with a higher percentage of registered African-American voters than Florida did not implement an early voting program a Section 2 violation would occur because African-American voters in that state would have less of an opportunity to vote than voters in Florida. It would also follow that a Section 2 violation could occur in Florida if a state with a lower percentage of African-American voters employed an early voting system ... that lasts three weeks instead of the two week system currently used in Florida. This simply cannot be the standard for establishing a Section 2 violation.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory · 182 F. Supp. 3d 320 - North Carolina State Conference of NAACP v. McCrory

2. “1. the extent of any history of official discrimination in the state or political subdivision that touched the right of the members of the minority group to register, to vote, or otherwise to participate in the democratic process; 2. the extent to which voting in the elections of the state or political subdivision is racially polarized; 3. the extent to which the state or political subdivision has used unusually large election districts, majority vote requirements, anti-single shot provisions, or other voting practices or procedures that may enhance the opportunity for discrimination against the minority group; 4. if there is a candidate slating process, whether the members of the minority group have been denied access to that process; 5. the extent to which members of the minority group in the state or political subdivision bear the effects of discrimination in such areas as education, employment and health, which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process; 6. whether political campaigns have been characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals; 7. the extent to which members of the minority group have been elected to public office in the jurisdiction. Additional factors that in some cases have had probative value as part of plaintiffs’ evidence to establish a violation are: whether there is a significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected officials to the particularized needs of the members of the minority group, whether the policy u”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory

3. “Moreover, in contrast to the Section 5 case before the Florida court, this Court, as Plaintiffs conceded at the hearing, is not conducting a “retrogression” analysis, meaning, this Court is not comparing the new statute against the old to determine whether these voting changes will “worsen the position of minority voters in comparison to the preexisting voting standard, practice, or procedure.” Rather, the task before this Court under Section 2 of the VRA is to conduct a “practical evaluation of the past and present reality” to determine whether, under the totality of the circumstances, application of the 2011 Early Voting Statute serves to deny African American voters equal access to the political process. The important distinction between a Section 5 and a Section 2 claim plays a significant role in the Court’s decision in this case.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 182 F. Supp. 3d 320 - North Carolina State Conference of NAACP v. McCrory