Ward v. Howard’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It may be admitted for many purposes the certificate is the evidence of title to the nomination, and that without a certificate the candidate for many purposes should not be treated as the nominee, with the rights and privileges that attach to a regular nomination, but yet, we think, the actual issual of a certificate is not a prerequisite to the commencement of an election contest. The right to begin this contest grows out of the fact that the candidate whose nomination is contested has received on the face of the returns as made by the election officers a majority of the votes, and this fact has been ascertained and determined by the election commissioners, because the person who is found to have received a majority of the votes is entitled as a matter of right to have the certificate, provided he desires it and files the statement required by the Corrupt Practice Act. “If the issual of a certificate were an indispensable prerequisite to the bringing of a contest suit, the election commissioners might delay the issual of a certificate until it was too late to bring a suit that would avail anything, although it is true they might be compelled by mandamus proceedings to issue one. But we repeat that the primary election law does not specifically provide that contest proceedings shall not be started until after a certificate has been issued. The intent of this statute is that the contest shall be commenced within five days from the time the commissioners should have awarded t”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gettys v. Cobble

2. ““The question now is, can the clerk by deliberately absenting himself from his office, or by closing his office, or by concealing himself, or by refusing to take the bonds, deprive the contestants of their right to take appeals ? If this statute should be so strictly construed as that this court would not have jurisdiction under any conditions or under any circumstances unless the bond was executed on the day the judgment was rendered, it can readily be seen that in many cases the contestant, without any fault or neglect on his part, and although he may have made every reasonable effort to execute the bond on the day the judgment was rendered, would be denied the right of appeal, by the conduct of the clerk, or by some other condition that could not be anticipated or provided against. “But we do not think the statute should be so strictly and harshly construed. Its purpose was to hasten the procedure in these cases and not to deprive the contestant of the right to appeal for the failure to execute a bond on the day of the judgment when, by circumstances beyond his control, he was prevented from executing it on that day.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hagy v. Allen

3. ““The certificate, for purposes of contest, should be treated as awarded when it has been ascertained by a canvass and tabulation of the votes who the successful candidate is, although, the certificate may not then be issued. When the canvass and tabulation show that a certain candidate has received the majority of the votes, he is then entitled, as a matter of right, to a certificate of nomination, and if he fails to ask for it, or fails to comply with other provisions of the law necessary to enable him to get it, this action on his part should not be allowed to obstruct the right of a candidate to commence proceedings against him. It is not within the contemplation of either the primary election law nor the Corrupt Practice Act that a candidate who is successful on the face of the returns should have it in his power to obstruct or defeat, by his own act, the commencement of a successful prosecution against him by a person contesting his right to the nomination for the office.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Matthews v. Stephens