Maciariello’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 federal appellate · 15 district · 12 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 166 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Officials are not liable for bad guesses in gray areas; they are liable for transgressing bright lines.”

   25 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Tomashek v. Raleigh Cnty. Emergency Operating Ctr. · J.M. v. S.C. Dep't of Soc. Servs.

2. “A police department has an undeniable interest in discouraging unofficial internal investigations. If personal investigations were the usual way for an officer to check out suspicious activities of a fellow officer, the effect on efficiency and morale could be very disrupting, and the effectiveness of the police force might deteriorate. Instead of concentrating on their traditional duties in the community, officers with personal hostilities could become preoccupied with personal investigations of one another. Esprit de corps could collapse into a kafkaesque nightmare of improper investigations into the impropriety of improper investigations.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 667 F. Supp. 2d 573 - Iglesias v. Wolford · 106 F. Supp. 3d 744 - Liverman v. City of Petersburg

3. “sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. No. 99-1893, 99-1894 · 396 F. Supp. 2d 715 - Pennington v. Teufel