Waples v. Marrast’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 3 district · 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 33 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A political party is nothing more' or less than a body of men associated for the purpose of furnishing and maintaining the prevalence of certain political principles or beliefs in the public policies of the government. As rivals for popular favor they strive at the general elections for the control of the agencies of the government as the means of providing a course for the government in accord with their political principles and the administration of those agencies by their own adherents. * * * • But the fact remains that the objects of political organizations are intimate to those who compose them. They do not concern the general public. * * * They perform no governmental function. They constitute no governmental agency. The purpose of their primary elections is merely to enable them to furnish their nominees as candidates for the popular suffrage. * * * To provide nominees of political parties'for the people to vote upon in the general elections is not the business of the State. * * • * Political parties are political instrumentalities. They are in no sense governmental instrumentalities.””

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Grigsby v. Harris · Nixon v. Condon

2. ““The authority of the Legislature to require the holding of a primary election by the political parties of the State for the purpose of enabling their members to vote their choice for party nominees for elective offices, whether State or National, and likewise express their preference in the selection of party delegates to party conventions, is undoubted.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Carubbi v. Craig

3. “General elections are essential to the public welfare and are distinctly related to the discharge of an important governmental duty, because it is only by their means that the organic law may be amended and in the elective offices public officials be supplied for the various administrative agencies.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hamilton v. Davis