Williamson v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
184 F.2d 280 · 1950
Citation profile
50 federal appellate · 6 district · 14 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 92 later decisions (6 by the Supreme Court) — most recently April 2018 · most notably United States v. Salerno (1987), Carlson v. Landon (1952)
50 federal appellate · 6 district · 14 state decisions — followed in 13 states
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
Applies 18 U.S.C. § 2385 · 18 U.S.C. § 3043
Relies on United States v. Dennis · D'Aquino v. United States · Bridges v. United States · Rossi v. United States
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 92 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““If I assume that defendants are disposed to commit every opportune disloyal act helpful to Communist countries, it is still difficult to reconcile with traditional American law the jailing of persons by the courts because of anticipated but as yet uncommitted crimes. Imprisonment to protect society from predicted but unconsummated offenses is so unprecedented in this country and so fraught with danger of excesses and injustice that .I am loath to resort to it, even as a discretionary judicial technique to supplement conviction of such offenses as those of which defendants, stand convicted.””
9 later decisions quote this exact passage““ ‘But the right of every American to equal treatment before the law is wrapped up in the same constitutional bundle with those of these Communists. If in anger or disgust with these defendants we throw out the bundle, we also cast aside protection for the liberties of more worthy critics who may be in opposition to the government of some future day.’ ””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““To remain at large, under bond, after conviction and until the courts complete the process of settling substantial questions which underlie the determination of guilt cannot be demanded as a matter of right. It rests in sound judicial discretion.””
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.