Pearson v. Pearson’s Empirical Analysis
1946
Citation profile
23 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 23 later decisions — most recently May 1973
23 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 Wichita Falls & Oklahoma Railway Co. v. Pepper · Wilson v. Elliott · Sellman v. Sellman · Greenlaw v. Dilworth · Oldham v. Oldham
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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“"In the case at bar the trial judge undertook to modify the judgment of 1942 as to the custody of the children. This action could be based only on changed conditions arising since February, 1944, because on that date the custody of these children had again been adjudicated. The trial judge did not find any changed conditions and when the matter was called to his attention in a specially requested finding he persisted in not so finding. Apparently the trial judge was of the opinion that he had to determine but one issue, that of the best interests of the minor children. It is true that in modifying a custody judgment the trial court should be governed by what will be to the best interest and welfare of the minor children, but it is equally true that such modification must be based upon changed conditions. Wilson v. Elliott, 96 Tex. 472 , 73 S.W. 946 , 75 S.W. 368 , 97 Am.St. Rep. 928; Greenlaw v. Dilworth, Tex.Com.App., 299 S.W. 875 ; Keith v. Keith, Tex.Civ.App., 286 S.W. 534 ; Oldham v. Oldham, Tex.Civ.App., 135 S.W.2d 564 ; Kesler v. McGuire, Tex. Civ.App., 109 S.W.2d 1115 ; Futch v. Futch, Tex.Civ.App., 299 S.W. 289 . "Frequent hearings as to the custody of minor children of divorced parents should be frowned upon by courts and are not to be encouraged. A judgment as to such custody is res judicata as to the best interests of the children and such judgment should not be modified except upon a showing of changed conditions since the judgment, requiring, in the best interest”
4 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.