Kilbourn v. Thompson’s Empirical Analysis
103 U.S. 168 · 1880
Citation profile
229 federal appellate · 108 district · 234 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 925 later decisions (135 by the Supreme Court) — most recently February 2024 · most notably Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982), Scheuer v. Rhodes (1974)
229 federal appellate · 108 district · 234 state decisions — followed in 43 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Pennoyer v. Neff · Calder et Wife, v. Bull et Wife. · United States v. Cruikshank · Ex parte Lange
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 925 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“generally done in a session of the House by one of its members in relation to the business before it.”
23 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“. . . we are sure that no person can be punished for con-' tumacy as a witness before either House, .unless his testimony is required in a matter into which that House has jurisdiction to inquire, and we feel equally sure that neither of these bodies possesses the general power of making inquiry into the private affairs of the citizen.”
11 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.”
9 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.