Wheeler v. Patrick’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It will be observed that the statute provides for a remedy in case of an error or omission in placing or failing to place the name of any candidate on the official primary ballot, and provides in substance that only the candidates shall have the right to resort to such remedy. Where there is a failure to place the name of a candidate on the primary ballot, he is the party aggrieved, but where the name of the candidate is improperly placed on the ballot his opponent is the one aggrieved, and may resort to the remedy provided by the statute. While the statute does not so declare, we are of the opinion that the statute, construed as a whole, shows a plain purpose on the part of the Legislature to make the remedy exclusive. In the first place, it puts all errors, whether of placing or refusing to place, the name of a candidate on the ballot, in the same category, and provides for a summary method of hearing and determining the questions before the primary takes place. Not only so, but it is not to be supposed that the Legislature would have provided that the judgment rendered in such a proceeding was not subject to appeal, and at the same time have left the parties free to disregard the statute and make the error a ground of contest after the election with the right of an appeal in case of an unfavorable decision. If such were the law, no candidate would ever pursue the remedy provided by the statute for the purpose of contesting his opponent’s right to go on the ballot. He woul”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Faulkner v. Asher