Cross v. O'Cavanagh’s Empirical Analysis
1945
Citation profile
5 federal appellate · 53 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 60 later decisions — most recently May 2003 · most notably Martin, Etc. v. Eslick (1956), Vaughn v. VAUGHN (1960)
5 federal appellate · 53 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 Byrd v. Wallis · Ball v. Phelan · Harvey v. Johnson · Bratton v. Graham · Branton v. Buckley
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 60 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[t]he paramount duty of the court is to ascertain the intent of the testator, gathered from the language used, in the light of the circumstances surrounding the execution of the will, and give effect to such intent unless contrary to law or public policy.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“she gave each of her three sisters one fourth of her property with full right and power to use, consume, dispose of, and sell and convey title thereto if they desired to do so in their lifetime”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“I give and bequeath to — My three Sisters Bessie — Margie and Stella — and the heirs of Eva Cross, all my real estate and personal property I die possessed of — To my Sister Minna Craig $1.00 (one dollar) and my Brother James O’Cavanagh $1.00 (one dollar). If at the death of my Sisters — Bessie Margie and Stella, what is left of my estate it will go to the heirs of my Sister Eva Cross — .”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.