Benson v. McMahon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

141 federal appellate · 43 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 339 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “of the character of those preliminary examinations which take place . . . before a committing magistrate for the purpose of determining whether a case is made out which will justify the holding of the accused . . . to ultimately answer to an indictment.”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Todd v. United States · In re Ezeta

2. “whether, under the construction of the act of congress and the treaty entered into between this country and Mexico, there was legal evidence before the commissioner to justify him in exercising his power to commit the person accused to custody to await the requisition of the Mexican government.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Extradition of Mertz · Mironescu v. Costner

3. ““To say that the evidence must be such as to require the conviction of the prisoner if lie were on . trial before a petit jury would, if applied to cases of extradition, bo likely to work great injustice. The theory on which treaties for extradition are made is that the place where a crime was committed is the proper place in which to try the person charged with having committed it; and nothing is required, to warrant extradition, except that sufficient evidence of the fact of the commission of the crime shall be produced to justify a commitment for trial for the crime. In acting under the thirty-third section of the judiciary act of 1789 (section 1014, Bev. St.) in regard to offenses against the United States, a committing magistrate acts on the principle that, in substance, after an examination into the matter, and a proper opportunity for the giving of testimony on both sides, there is reasonable ground to hold the accused for trial. The contrary view would lead to the couclusion that the accused should not be given up to be tried in the country in which the offense was committed, — the country where the witnesses on both sides are presumptively to be found, — but should be tried in the country in which he may happen to be found. Such a result would entirely destroy the object of such treaties.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In re Ezeta