Pouchan v. Godeau’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 12 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Each and every witness who testified to the use of the language complained of testified to the effect that defendant intercepted and barred the entrance of plaintiff to the hall, and at the same time opened the conversation by saying to him, ‘ Thieves are not allowed in here. ’ This language, under the circumstances of its use, clearly in itself and without further explanation prima facie carried the inference that plaintiff was a thief, or that defendant so charged. “The fact that plaintiff, by a question drew out a reiteration in more direct language of the charge already made, in the presence of the same people, does not bring the case within the rule of ‘Volenti non fit injuria,’ relied upon by defendant in support of his request for the rejected instructions. “Where a defendant, not in the presence or hearing of third persons, makes a slanderous statement about a plaintiff, and thereafter at the request of the plaintiff repeats the statement in the presence and hearing of third persons, such repetition cannot be made the basis of an action for slander. Such a case is within the rule now invoked by defendant.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Moranville v. Aletto