Hagood v. Riley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““Under that act, a party defendant might have had the bill dismissed for want of prosecution, unless for satisfactory cause shown to the contrary; or it would have been in the power of the court, of its own motion, and after the cause was docketed, if the parties delayed their proceeding, to strike off the cause, or make such order as would be a final decision; or it might refuse to proceed further against the defendant, or might set aside a decree improvidently entered against him. But these directions of the act should be, and have been always, construed to subserve the purposes of justice, and not to take advantage of inadvertence or misapprehension. As is remarked by Chancellor Harper, if such motion be not made by the party defendant, being in court, this may be held evidence of consent on his part; and it may be added that, if no order be entered by the court, it may be inferred that the court thought that the delay was reasonable.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Coosaw Min. Co. v. Farmers' Min. Co.