Farmer v. Mabus’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 1 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It would be difficult to think of a clearer example of the type of governmental action that was intended by the Constitution to be left to the political branches .... Moreover, it is difficult to conceive of an area of governmental activity in which the courts have less competence. The complex subtle, and professional decisions as to the composition, training, equipping, and control of a military force are essentially professional military judgments, subject always to civilian control of the Legislative and Executive Branches. The ultimate responsibility for these decisions is appropriately vested in branches of the government which are periodically subject to electoral accountability.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Lane v. Halliburton

2. “little more than a direct attack on a personal order of the [governor]. While the courts occasionally have been willing to examine the lawfulness of induction or discharge, decisions internal to the chain of command require much greater deference, lest we soon find ourselves mired in the nigh-impossible task of judicially reviewing each order or directive issued by lawful military authority.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Kise v. Department of Military