McAfee v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
1917
Citation profile
21 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 21 later decisions — most recently July 1988
21 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 Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Yopst · Quarles v. State · Burns & Co. v. Moore & McGee · Pate v. Wright · Commonwealth v. White
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.
““But, in our opinion, these changed and ever changing conditions in the customs, manners and habits of the-people can not be allowed to alter the meaning or impair the efficiency of this statute. It must be given the same-construction and effect today that it had yesterday, and. in all cases such a necessity must exist to excuse the doing of work or business on Sunday as must have existed to excuse the doing of work or business on Sunday in more primitive times. But to meet the demands of new conditions and changing modes and habits of life, the scope and operation of the statute is constantly broadening, so that it may reach out and be applied to these new conditions as they come up and yet not depart from the-rule that nothing short of necessity will excuse the doing of the work or business on the Sabbath day. As new developments in social, business and economic life are constantly bringing into view new customs, trades and callings, the statute as it reads must be applied to these-new conditions, and the work or business subjected to the-never changing test of necessity, judged by the facts and circumstances of the case under investigation.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“The fact that the failure to do something may cause interruption or delay in the ordinary course of business, or some discomfort or inconvenience to the individual affected or the public, will not make the doing of the thing a work of necessity. It must be something that not to do would work severe hardship or loss or unusual discomfort or inconvenience either to the individual who does the thing complained of or to the person or persons for whom he does it. [ 190 S.W. at 673 ]”
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.