Ladd v. Lamb’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[a]s a rule a statute prescribing the time within which public officers are required to perform an official act regarding the rights and duties of others, and enacted with a view to the proper, orderly, and prompt conduct of business, is directory unless it denies the exercise of the power after such time, or the phraseology of the statute, or the nature of the act to be performed, and the consequences of doing or failing to do it at such time are such that the designation of the time must be considered a limitation on the power of the officer”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Huffman v. Kite · State v. Banks

2. ““The clerk of the court * * * shall forward to the Commissioner a certified copy or abstract of any conviction and of any forfeiture of bail or collateral deposited to secure a defendant’s appearance in court unless the forfeiture has been vacated, * * * immediately upon the expiration of fifteen days after the conviction or forfeiture or judgment has become final without appeal. * * *” (Emphasis added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Huffman v. Kite

3. “[a] mandatory provision in a statute is one the omission to follow which renders the proceeding to which it relates illegal and void, while a directory provision is one the observance of which is not necessary to the validity of the proceeding”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Banks