In Re E.L. McCapes’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a fire on his own land for the purpose of burning brush, stumps, logs ... or any other thing whatsoever,”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 85 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 821 - People v. Goodspeed · 45 Cal. App. 2d 87 - People v. Black

2. “Railroad companies, in the dry season, frequently burn the weeds along their rights of way for the very purpose of preventing fires. Road overseers and supervisors do the same thing along the highways. Yet under this law, not only may this not be done, but a farmer may not burn a brush pile or a rubbish heap in his back yard without first obtaining permission from some fire warden, and if in his county there be no such fire warden he may not make a fire at all, until in due course one shall have been appointed, to whom he may [ 85 Cal.App.2d Supp. 825 ] make petition. The language of this section is so broad as to have little or no relation to the real purpose of the act. It prevents the setting of any fire without permission from a fire warden, though the fire be set with scrupulous care, and by no possibility could work the destruction of property. Such a law upon the face of it is an unreasonable interference with the rights of property. But if it be said that notwithstanding the language, the law will be given a construction which will avoid hardship, it must be answered that by its terms it makes it a crime for any man to light a fire on his land for the purpose of burning 'anything whatsoever,' and declares the person who does so a criminal, regardless of the fact that the fire was carefully set and guarded and regardless of the fact that no injury to anybody resulted from the setting.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 85 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 821 - People v. Goodspeed

3. “The purpose of the law being for the general good of the state, to prevent the destruction of property by fires carelessly set and allowed to escape control, not only brings the act strictly within the police power, but the purpose must commend the act to every court. Nevertheless, in the accomplishment of that purpose, it is quite plain that the Legislature has transgressed all reasonable bounds. ...”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 85 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 821 - People v. Goodspeed