Fleming v. Harrison’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 federal appellate · 1 district · 2 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The applicable rule is stated in Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Co. v. United States, 139 U.S. 560 , 567, 568, 11 S.Ct. 638 , 640, 35 L.Ed. 266 , as follows: ‘ * * * While the general rule is that the burden of proof is where the pleadings place it, namely upon the party against whom judgment must go, if no evidence whatever is introduced, its application is often affected by circumstances. “From the very nature of the question in dispute,” says Mr. Best, “all, or nearly all, the evidence that could be adduced respecting it must be in the possession of, or be easily attainable by, one of the contending parties, who accordingly could at once put an end to litigation by producing that evidence; while requiring his adversary to es tablish his case, because the affirmative lay on him, or because there was a presumption of law against him, would, if not amounting to injustice, at least be productive of expense and delay. In order to prevent this, it has been established as a general rule of evidence that the burden of proof lies on the person who wishes to support his ease by a particular fact which lies more peculiarly within his knowledge, or of which he is supposed to be cognizant.” ’ ” 2”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Sam Macri & Sons, Inc. v. U. S. A. ex rel. Oaks Construction Co. · Sam MacRi & Sons, Inc., a Corporation, and Continental Casualty Company, a Corporation v. U. S. A. For the Use of Oaks Construction Company