172 W. Va. 8 - Atchinson v. Erwin’s Empirical Analysis
1983
Citation profile
68 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 68 later decisions — most recently April 2019 · most notably 194 W. Va. 138 - Chrystal R.M. v. Charlie A.L. (1995), 185 W. Va. 214 - Gibson v. West Virginia Department of Highways (1991)
68 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.
Relationships
Relies on Shapiro v. Thompson · Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 159 W. Va. 108 - Smith v. State Workmen's Compensation Commissioner · 79 Ill. 2d 295 - Anderson v. Wagner · 149 W. Va. 740 - State Ex Rel. Appalachian Power Co. v. Gainer
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 68 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Where economic rights are concerned, we look to see whether the classification is a rational one based on social, economic, historic or geographic factors, whether it bears a reasonable relationship to a proper governmental purpose, and whether all persons within the class are treated equally. Where such classification is rational and bears the requisite reasonable relationship, the statute does not violate Section 39 of Article VI of the West Virginia Constitution.”
20 later decisions quote this exact passage““The constitutional requirement that a law be general does not imply that it must be uniform in its operation and effect in the full sense of its terms. If a law operates alike on all persons and property similarly situated, it is not subject to the objection of special legislation or class legislation and does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.” Syllabus Point 7, State ex rel. Heck’s, Inc. v. Gates, 149 W.Va. 421 , 141 S.E.2d 369 (1965).”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage““ ‘A statute is general when it operates uniformly on all persons and things of a class and such classification is natural, reasonable and appropriate to the purpose sought to be accomplished.’ Syllabus Point 2, State ex rel. Taxpayers Protective Association of Raleigh County v. Hanks, 157 W.Va. 350 , 201 S.E.2d 304 (1973).””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.