State v. Downs’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 district · 16 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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is apparent, therefore, that if ‘two dollars’ necessarily implies money, there is no valid objection to the indictment in omitting an allegation of value. ‘Dollar is the money unit of the United States. ’ 5 Am. & Eng. Enc. of Law, p. 854. Where a testator directed his executors to place the sum of ‘twenty thousand dollars’ in some good investment, it was held that ‘there is no ambiguity about the word “dollars.” If any word has a settled meaning at law, and in the courts, it is this. It can only mean the legal currency of the United States, not dollars invested in lands, or stocks.’ Halstead v. Meeker’s Executors, 18 N. J. Eq. 136. ‘Money’ in its strict technical sense, is coined metal, usually gold or silver, upon which the government stamp has been imposed to indicate its value. In its more popular sense, any currency, token, bank notes, or other circulating medium in general use is the representative of value, a generic term, and covers everything which by consent is made to represent property and passes as such currently from hand to hand. 15 Am. & Eng. Enc. of Law, p. 701. ‘Money’ designates the whole volume of the medium of exchange régardless of its character or denomination. A ‘dollar’ is of the volume of money, and is by law made a money unit of the value of one hundred cents. ‘Two dollars’, therefore, could only mean a specific sum of money, or money, the value of which is fixed by law, and requires no proof. See Burrows v. State, 137 Ind. 474 , 45 Am. St. 210; ”

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