152 W. Va. 119 - Holstein v. Holstein’s Empirical Analysis
1968
Citation profile
70 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 70 later decisions — most recently March 2019 · most notably 196 W. Va. 239 - Carter v. Carter (1996), 153 W. Va. 404 - State Ex Rel. Kiger v. Hancock (1969)
70 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on 131 W. Va. 302 - State Ex Rel. Lipscomb v. Joplin · 133 W. Va. 501 - Pugh v. Pugh · 145 W. Va. 685 - Whiteman v. Robinson · Green v. Campbell · 129 W. Va. 765 - Pukas v. Pukas
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 70 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In a contest involving the custody of an infant the welfare of the child is the polar star by which the discretion of the court will be guided.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“The court has continuing jurisdiction over the matter of the custody of children. It should not, however, upon the hope that all will be well, change the custody unless there is valid evidence that such change is warranted. Stability and a feeling of permanence in his[/her] home life is essential to the well being of a child. He|7She] should not be passed from one parent to the other and back again unless such move is warranted by the evidence.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“First and foremost in a contest involving the custody of a child is the consideration of that child's welfare. It has been held repeatedly by this Court that the welfare of the child is the polar star by which the discretion of the court will be guided.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.