Walsh v. . Friedman’s Empirical Analysis
1941
Citation profile
15 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently May 1988
15 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.
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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““A general devise of the real estate of the testator . . . shall be construed to include any real estate which he may have power to appoint in any manner he may think proper; and shall operate as an execution of such power, unless a contrary intention shall appear by the will; and in like manner a bequest of the personal estate of the testator . . . shall be construed to include any personal estate which he may have power to appoint in any manner he may think proper, and shall operate as an execution of such power, unless a contrary intention shall appear by the will.” (Emphasis added.)”
1 later decision quote this exact passage““In Smith v. Mears, 218 N.C. 193 (197) citing a wealth of authorities, it is said: ‘In limine, it may be well to recall that the guiding star in the interpretation of wills, to which all rules must bend, unless contrary to some principle of law or public policy, is the intent of the testator, and this is to be ascertained from the language used by him, “taking it by its four-corners,” and considering for the purpose the will and any codicil or codicils as constituting one instrument.’ ” Walsh v. Friedman, 219 N.C. 151, 160 , 13 S.E. 2d 250 (1941).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“Upon the death of my daughter Catherine without having been married and without having entered a convent, I give and bequeath the same to and among such of my four sons, William S.; John F.; Charles H. and Henry C., as may be then living and the children then living of such as may have died per stirpes, in equal shares, absolutely.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.