Harris v. Harris’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““If the divorce shall be granted by reason of the fault or aggression of the wife, the court shall order restoration to her of the whole of her property, lands, tenements and hereditaments owned by her before, or by her separately acquired after the marriage . . . also the court may award the wife such share of her husband’s real and personal property, or both, as to the court may appear just and reasonable.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Berndt v. Berndt · Brown v. Brown

2. ““. . . If the divorce shall be granted by reason of the fault or aggression of the wife, the court shall order restoration to her of the whole of her property, lands, tenements and hereditaments owned by her before, or by her separately acquired after such marriage, and not previously disposed of, and also the court may award the wife such share of her husband’s real and personal property, or both, as to the court may appear just and reasonable; . . . And to such property, whether real or personal, as shall have been acquired by the parties jointly during their marriage, whether- the title thereto be in either or both of said parties, the court shall make such division between the parties respectively as may appear just and reasonable, by a division of the property in kind, or by setting the same apart to one of the parties, and requiring the other thereof to pay such sum as may be just and proper to effect a fair and just division thereof. . . .” (Emphasis supplied.)”

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

3. ““. . . This discretion is a judicial and not an arbitrary one. Discretion may be defined as the freedom to act according to one’s judgment. Judicial discretion implies the liberty to act as a judge should act, applying the rules and analogies of the law to the facts found after weighing and examining the evidence — to act upon fair judicial consideration, and not arbitrarily. When so acting in a matter committed to the discretion of the court by the law the judgment ought not to be overruled by a reviewing court, for to do so would be to deny the right to exercise the discretion given by the law itself. . . .” (1. c. 440.)”

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