United States v. Sandoval’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 9 district · 31 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 59 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The papers in the expediente show that it was the intention that a town or pueblo should, be, and that it was, established. The application stated that the land asked for was intended not only for the- fifty-one petitioners, ‘but also every one in the province not supplied.’ The alcalde Ortiz was directed to execute the grant on ‘the conditions and requisites required in such cases to be observed’; the conditions are set out by the alcalde in his report as all agreed to by petitioners, among them being the provision that the tract was to ‘be in common, not only in regard to themselves, but also to all the settlers who may join them in the future.’ “In 1803, the alcalde Pino, under instructions from the governor, went upon the grant and divided the lands which had been occupied and cultivated amongst the original petitioners and some others, and put each one in the possession of the lot drawn by him, notifying- th,em that no one should have the right to sell the land allotted to him until the expiration of ten years from that date, as directed by the governor. The grant purported to convey only the use of the lands, with -the right to acquire the legal title to such portion of it as might be allotted to each in severalty, on condition that they remained on it and cultivated it for ten years, while the unoccupied or common lands were declared to be for the benefit of the original grantees and all other persons who might desire to settle on the grant, and who complied with the ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Yeast v. Pru

2. “Even after the assignment the interest acquired by the pueblo was far from being an indefeasible estate such as is known to our laws. The purposes to be accomplished by the creation of pueblos did not require their possession of *Page 378 the fee. The interest * * * amounted to little more than a restricted and qualified right to alienate portions of the land to its inhabitants for building or cultivation, and to use the remainder for commons, for pasture lands, or as a source of revenue, or for other public purposes. And this limited right of disposition and use was in all particulars subject to the control of the government of the country.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Alexander v. Garcia

3. ““Given gratis, together with twenty-odd leagues travel. “(Pino’s Eubric). “By virtue of what has been done by Pedro Pino, senior justice of second vote of this capital town of Santa Fe concerning the distribution of lands made in the name of his Majesty to the residents of the new town of El Bado, known as San Miguel, I declare the aforesaid residents of El Bado the lawful owners thereof, approving and confirming the possession given by said Senior Justice Pedro Pino; and in order that it may so appear in all time, I signed this at Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the 30th day of March, 1803. “Fernando Chacon.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Bond v. Unknown Heirs of Barela