State ex rel. Murphy v. Stone’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““After the board has ascertained the value of this thing, made up of tracks, depots, water tanks, turntables, rolling stock, etc., known in common parlance and denominated in this statute as a railroad they are to apportion that value among the several municipalities of the state in which any part of this whole thing is located, by a certain standard of length,—a mile. A mile of what? There can be but one answer. A mile of the thing called a railroad, made up of the items mentioned in section 7718, the value of which as a whole is to be apportioned for such purpose. The number of miles of the railroad in this state, or within any municipal subdivision thereof, is not to be measured by the length of its main tracks, or of its main track and side tracks combined, any more than it is to be measured by the combined length of its main tracks, side tracks, rolling stock, and. the other property which go to make up the road value to be apportioned. It is the length of the whole thing, a railroad, which these several constituents, in place, go to make up, that is to be measured. Its length between its terminal points in this state, and its length in the several municipal subdivisions of the state, is to be ascertained, and its value apportioned to each of said municipalities in the ratio that its length in the municipality bears to its whole length in the state. This is the obvious meaning of the statute, and the construction that has been placed upon it by the board of equalization ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. City of Pocatello v. Ross