Mitchell v. Edds’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Item 3. I will, devise and bequeath to my wife, Julia E. Rhode, all the property, real, personal and mixed, of whatsoever kind and character and wheresoever located or situated, of which I may die seized and possessed, for and during her natural life, with remainder as hereinafter provided. “Item 4. I hereby appoint my wife, Julia E. Rhode, as independent executrix of this my last will and testament with full power and authority in her to bargain, sell, convey, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber, all or any part of my property, real, personal and mixed, for any reason or purpose she may desire in the same manner and as fully and completely as I could do if living, and to use the proceeds of such sale, mortgage, or other encumbrance as she may see fit and deem proper, and if she uses or disposes of all or any part of my property, or the proceeds thereof, she shall in no event be required to account to anyone therefor. * * * “Item 6. If, after the death of my wife, Julia E. Rhode, and the death of said Minerva Hightower, any portion of my estate remains, then the same shall descend and pass to my heirs according to the laws of descent and distribution of the State of Texas, and may after the death of both my said wife and said Minerva Hightower, and not until then, be partitioned among those so entitled to receive the same under said laws of descent and distribution.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. McClure v. Bailey

2. ““The nature of the bond transaction lifted it out of the category in which all the other transactions involved rested, for the bond transaction was one resting in contract, rather than upon a gift or devise. The status of the title to those bonds was fixed by the contract' between Julia Rhode and the United States Government, whereby the former purchased the bonds from the latter and paid for them under an agreement that the Government would pay the amount of the bonds to Retta B. Edds at their maturity at or after the death of Julia E. Rhode. The death of the latter., automatically fixed the relation of creditor and debtor between Retta B. Edds and the Government, whose obligation to her ripened, not by devise, but by the happening of the event which fixed the liability of the Government to Retta B. Edds, the payee, in accordance with the contractual obligation of the Government to pay her the amount of the bonds at maturity and upon the death of Julia E. Rhode. The facts of the transaction were stipulated by all the parties, and under those facts Retta B. Edds became the owner of full title to the bonds. United States v. Dauphin Deposit Trust Co., D. C. Pa., 50 F. Supp. 73 ; In re Deyo’s Estate, 180 Misc. 32 , 42 N. Y. S. 2d 379; Franklin Washington Trust Company v. Beltram, 133 N. J. Eq. 11, 29 A. 2d 854 .””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Estate of Murray