Mallory v. Walton’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The signature here in question does not purport to be in Mrs. Walton’s proper handwriting, but to have been made by her mark, and what we will have to say must be limited to a signature of such character. The reason for this caution being that while a mark made by another may be adopted as a signature, there may be a difference under the last statute hereinbefore set. forth between the power of a person to adopt a signature made for him by another and which purports to be in his own proper handwriting, and his power to adopt such a signature made by a mark, as to which an opinion is not now necessary. Ferguson v. Monroe County, 71 Miss. 524 , 14 So. 81; Sheehan v. Kearney, 82 Miss. 688 , 21 So. 41 , 35 L. R. A. 102. 'While Mrs. Whlton denied signing- the deed' in controversy, she did not deny that the facts stated in the certificate of acknowledgment are true; that is, that she personally appeared before R. Ftrank, Mayor of the town of Slate Springs, and ex officio justice of the peace, and-acknowledged that she ‘signed and delivered’ the deed. So that if her testimony be construed most strongly against her, as it should be, we must hold that the recital in the certificate is true, and, if true, then by acknowledging- and delivering- the deed she adopted as her. signature the mark appended' as such thereto, though it may have been made by another. ’ ’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Simmons v. Dantzler