Patrick v. Riley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

58 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 58 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is a well recognized principle that it is one of the first duties of a state to take all necessary steps for the promotion and protection of the health and comfort of its inhabitants. The preservation of the public health is universally conceded to be one of the duties devolving upon the state as a sovereignty and whatever reasonably tends to preserve the public health, is a subject upon which the legislature within its police power may take notice. . . . “That the act here in question (Bovine Tuberculosis Law) was enacted for a public purpose is beyond question, and being a law for the suppression of disease and the promotion of public health, it should be given a broad and liberal construction that it may accomplish the purpose intended in enacting it. . . . In construing such an act, the courts must presume that the legislature has carefully investigated and has properly determined that the interests of the public require legislation that will insure the public safety and the public health against threatened danger from diseased animals.. The determination of that fact is the province of the legislature, and not of the courts. It is also the province of the legislature, in the exercise of a sound discretion, to determine what measures are necessary for the protection of such interests.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 15 Cal. App. 2d 316 - Pennington v. Bonelli