Smith v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““# * # * (T)he desertion relied on for divorce must be alleged and proved to have occurred prior to the bringing of the suit, not based upon some act or conduct alleged to have taken place during its pendency.” Hudgins v. Hudgins, 181 Va. 81, 87 , 23 S. E. 2d 774, 777 ; Lee v. Lambert, 200 Va. 799, 802 , 108 S. E. 2d 356, 358 . “It seems well settled that the absenting of one spouse from the other after the institution and during the pendency of a suit for a divorce, as here, is not desertion in law and it is not an act upon which a suit for desertion may be predicated. Indeed, in many cases it is highly proper that such physical separation should be, and under many circumstances it is commendable.” Hudgins v. Hudgins, supra, 181 Va., at p. 87 , 23 S. E. 2d, at p. 777 .”

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

2. “A separation by mutual consent will be presumed to continue by mutual consent until one of the parties withdraws consent and offers to resume cohabitation, in which case the burden is on the offending party to prove that the offer was made in good faith and was refused without justification.”

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