Murphy v. McElroy’s Empirical Analysis
1939
Citation profile
1 federal appellate · 32 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 34 later decisions — most recently December 1999 · most notably Manhart v. Manhart (1986), Miller v. Miller (1940)
1 federal appellate · 32 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 Pereira v. Pereira · Galusha v. . Galusha · 83 Cal. App. 74 - Brown v. Brown · Farmers' State Bank of Ada v. Keen · Hensley v. Hensley
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 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““When a divorce shall be granted by reason of the fault or aggression of the husband, the wife shall be restored to her maiden name if she so desires, and also to all the property, lands, tenements, hereditaments owned by her before marriage or acquired by her in her own right after such marriage, and not previously disposed of, and shall be allowed such alimony out of the husband’s real and personal property as the court shall think reasonable, having due regard to the value of his real and personal estate at the time of said divorce; which alimony may be allowed to her in real or personal property, or both, or by decreeing to her such sum of money, payable either in gross or in installments, as the court may deem just and equitable.....””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““1. The rule that alimony to the wife at certain intervals without fixing a definite sum ultimately to be paid under a decree is void as to such alimony does not apply to contracts entered into between the husband and wife for the payment of alimony at certain intervals for an indefinite period of time, where such contract stands alone and is not merged into the decree or extinguished by it. “2. An agreement in writing by husband and wife after separation and after divorce proceedings had been commenced, wherein property rights are settled, separate maintenance is provided for the wife, and the husband’s estate is released, does not contravene public policy, is authorized by section 1656, O. S. 1931, and will be enforced if fair and fairly entered into.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Battles v. Battles““A husband and wife cannot, by any contract with each other, alter their legal relations, except as to property, and except that they may agree in writing to an immediate separation, and may make provision for the support of either of them and of their children during such separation.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Eatman v. Eatman
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.