United States v. Gorham’s Empirical Analysis
165 U.S. 316 · 1897
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 1 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 12 later decisions (2 by the Supreme Court) — most recently July 1958
2 federal appellate · 1 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.
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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“But the 5th section provides for judgment in favor of claimant, and against the United States, in any event where the property of a citizen has been destroyed under the circumstances provided in the statute, but only against the tribe of Indians committing the wrong 'when such can be identified;' and of course it follows that, if they cannot be identified, no judgment can go against them. The United States would then be left as alone responsible for the property destroyed, provided the proofs were of the character mentioned in the 1st section of the act; that is, the claimant would be bound to prove that he was a citizen of the United States at the time of the taking or destruction of his property; that it had been taken by Indians belonging to some band or tribe or nation in amity with the United States, without just cause or provocation on the part of the owner or agent in charge; and that it had not been returned or paid for.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Although the 4th section provides for the defense of the claim by the law officer of the government, under any circumstances, yet, as the interest of the Indians is embraced in the inquiry before the court because of their liability to a judgment against them if identified, and to a payment of that judgment out of the annuities or otherwise, as provided for in the 6th section, it is proper to allow them to appear, and defend also by their own attorney.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“That the court shall determine, in each case, the value of the property taken or destroyed at the time and place of the loss or destruction, and, if possible, the tribe of Indians or other persons by whom the wrong was committed, and shall render judgment in favor of the claimant or claimants against the United States, and against the tribe of Indians committing the wrong, when such can be identified.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.