Roberts v. Lewis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 federal appellate · 35 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 76 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The opinion of the Supreme Court of the state appears to have been formed upon full consideration of the difficulties of the case, and is entitled to great weight, especially upon the construction of the statute of the state. Suydam v. Williamson, 24 How. 427 , 16 L. Ed. 742 . And this court, on reconsideration of the whole matter, with the aid of the various judicial opinions upon the subject, and of the learned briefs of counsel, is of opinion that the sound construction of this will, as to the extent of the power conferred on the widow, is in accordance with the conclusion of the state court, and not with the former decision of this court, which must, therefore, be considered as overruled.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bilger v. Nunan · Bilger v. Nunan

2. “‘‘The testator’s primary object manifestly was to provide for his widow. He begins by giving her ‘all my estate, real and personal,’ which of itself would carry a fee, unless restricted by other words. Lambert v. Paine, 3 branch, 97, 2 L. Ed. 377 . He then says, ‘to be and remain hers,’ which, upon any possible construction, secures to her the full use and enjoyment of the estate, while she holds it. She is also vested, in the most comprehensive terms, ‘with full power, right and authority to dispose of the same’ (which, as no less title has as yet been mentioned, naturally means the whole estate) ‘as to her shall seem most meet and proper, so long as she shall remain my widow.’ This last clause, so far as it controls the previous words, has full effect if construed as limiting the time during which the widow may have the use. and enjoyment of the estate, and the power to dispose of it, and not restricting- the subject to be disposed of. The power thus conferred, therefore, in its own terms, as well as by the general intent of the testator, gives her during widowhood the right to sell and convey an absolute title in any part of the estate; for it would be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain an adequate price for a title liable to be defeated in the hands of the purchaser by the widow’s marrying again. That the power was intended to be unlimited in this respect appears, even more distinctly, by the terms of the next clause, by which, if she should marry again, the testator”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bilger v. Nunan

3. ““To my beloved wife, Edit ha J. Dawson, I give and bequeath all my estate, real and personal, of which 1 may die seized, the same to be and remain hers, with full power, right and authority to dispose of the same as to her shall seem most meet and proper, so long as she shall remain my widow, upon the express condition, however, that if she should marry again, then it is my will that all of the estate herein bequeathed, or whatever may remain, should go to my surviving children, share and share alike.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bilger v. Nunan