Commonwealth v. Watson’s Empirical Analysis
1928
Citation profile
4
cited by 4 later decisions
2
states following
January 1998
most recently cited
4 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Village of Carthage v. . Frederick · Flynn v. Canton Co. · City of St. Louis v. Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance · City of Chicago v. O'Brien · City of Helena v. Kent
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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The purpose of the statute was to make the highway free of all obstructions and to provide a clear view along the highway, to the end that accidents may be avoided and the lives and property of the citizens be properly protected. In other words the statute was enacted for the public safety, which has always been regarded as a proper subject of police power_ [I]t operates alike on all persons similarly situated. It not only imposes an obligation upon those who by reason of their peculiar situation are best able to perform it but the work required is a distinct benefit to them or their property. Moreover, the duty thus imposed does not differ materially either in kind or degree from the duties which have been imposed upon our citizens since the foundation of the commonwealth, and which have always been recognized as valid, such as the duty to work a public road, or to assist an officer in the performance of a duty, or to permit the destruction of one’s property when the circumstances require it.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.