Ex parte De Wees’s Empirical Analysis
1948
Citation profile
51 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 54 later decisions — most recently July 1996 · most notably Ex Parte Helms (1953), Ex Parte Werblud (1976)
51 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 83 N.J. Eq. 300 - Staley v. South Jersey Realty Co. · Valentine v. Valentine · Brown v. Brown · Davison v. Davison · Ex parte Silvia
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 54 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““Where it is not within the power of a person to perform the act which alone will purge him of contempt, the court is without power to imprison him for an indefinite term as punishment for an offense already committed.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passagee.g. In Re McLemore · Ex Parte Williams““In a ‘civil contempt’ the proceeding is remedial, it is a step in the cause the object of which is to coerce one party for the benefit of the other party to do or to refrain from doing some act specified in the order of the court. ■ Hence, if imprisonment be ordered, it is remedial in purpose and coercive in character, and to that end must relate to something to be done by the defendant by the doing of which he may discharge himself. As quaintly expressed, the imprisoned man ‘carries the keys to his prison in his own pocket.’ ” (Emphasis added.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Ex Parte Ramzy““Our concern is not what will certainly happen if relief is denied, but what could happen. Obviously, the thing that could happen is the lifetime' imprisonment of relator, and a denial of relief would be a recognition by this court of the power of the trial judge to enter an order having that effect.” Relators are ordered discharged.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Ex Parte Thetford
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.