United States v. Gray’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 federal appellate · 7 district · 2 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““For more than a century it has been and still is the governmental policy of the United States to exercise the power granted to it by the Constitution (article 3, § 8, snbd. 3) to protect the Indians and their property from the greed, rapacity, cunning, and perfidy of the members of the superior race, . which have so often driven them to poverty, despair, and war, and to teach and persuade them to abandon nomadic habits and to adopt and practice the arts of civilization. In order to carry out this policy it has reserved and held in trust for them large tracts of land and large sums of money derived from their release of their rights of occupancy of their lands in this country, it has controlled and managed their property for them, it has furnished them with houses, barns, and other permanent improvements, with domestic animals, means of subsistence, and money in small amounts. It has provided them with government agents to advise them and to protect their property, and with physicians, farmers, schools and teachers to instruct them.” “It has been and. still is the policy of the United States to protect the property and the rights óf the Indians under its control, and to teach them agriculture and the arts of civilized life. The Indian reservations, the funds derived from the lease of their right of occupancy to their lands, the lands allotted to the individual Indians, but still held in trust by the United States during the period of restriction upon alienation, the leases of”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Pearson · United States v. Law

2. ““The civil and political status of the Indians does not condition the power of the government to protect their property or to instruct them. Their admission to citizenship does not deprive the United States of its power, nor relieve it of its duty, to control their property, to protect their rights to it from the rapacity and faithlessness of the members of the superior race, to discharge faithfully its legal and moral obligations to them, and to execute every trust with which it is charged for their benefit.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Cramer v. United States · Superintendent Five Civilized Tribes v. Commissioner

3. ““It [United States] has capacity to sue to avoid conveyances made by Indian allottees in violation of restrictions upon alienation, although it has no pecuniary interest therein, or in the land conveyed. It has this right to sue, because such conveyances violate its governmental rights and hinder or prevent the execution of its governmental policy. * * * On the same ground it may maintain suits to cancel leases procured from Indian allottees without the required approval of the Secretary of the Interior. * * * ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Moore