Gilmer v. Stinson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““If the law was otherwise than as announced in these cases, confidence in titles based on tax sales would largely be destroyed because their stability as muniments of title would be undermined. A purchaser at tax sale could not feel secure in his title until the lapse of five years. Heirs and others to whom not assessed, could, as is attempted in this case, come into court and recover the property and thereby create confusion and difficulties in the way of adjustments for improvements, rents, etc., simply because notice of delinquency, etc., was not served on them. The law does not encourage nor countenance such possibilities. On the contrary, its policy is to bolster the prima facie evidence of validity which the Constitution declares should be accorded to tax sales.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Esso Standard Oil Company v. Jordan