Spear v. McDermott’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Willfulness or intent, however, is not an element of a contempt action such as the one in this appeal. See State v. Wisniewski, 103 N.M. [at 434-35, 708 P.2d at 1035-36] (willfulness is not required to support a criminal contempt conviction); In re Hooker, 94 N.M. 798, 799 , 617 P.2d 1313, 1314 (1980) (elements of civil contempt are knowledge of the court’s order and an ability to comply). We recognize that some cases from this Court have stated that willfulness is an element of contempt, but in none of those cases has the issue been directly addressed (unlike Wisniewski), and it appears that the inclusion of intent as an element has been merely an oversight. See, e.g., State ex rel. Udall v. Wimberly, 118 N.M. 627, 631 , 884 P.2d 518, 522 (Ct.App.1994) (reciting that the elements of contempt are knowledge of the order, ability to comply, and willful noncompliance); Rhinehart v. Nowlin, 111 N.M. [at 326, 805 P.2d at 95 ] (same). Following our Supreme Court’s precedent in Hooker and Wisniewski we hold that willfulness or intent is not an element of a civil contempt action.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Rivera

2. “It is a well-established rule in both federal and state courts that jurisdiction over a case is established at the time an action is filed and cannot be voided [or altered] by later events.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re JDMC