Smith v. Curtis’s Empirical Analysis
1949
Citation profile
10 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 12 later decisions — most recently July 1985
10 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 Hess & Skinner Engineering Co. v. Turney · Hursey v. Thompson & Hursey · Austin v. Collins · Stanford v. Stanford
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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““It will be noted that the sections of the adoption statute which are material to a passing upon the questions here, merely order that certain formalities be observed by the judge and clerk; but there are other sections in the statute which set out that the adoption cannot be consummated unless complied with. . . . In considering legislative intent, we have concluded that the matters here complained of do not affect the jurisdiction of the court, or its right to proceed with the trial of the case, but are directory only, since the Legislature specifically set out those matters which should be present before a judgment of adoption could be rendered. Having provided specifically the things necessary before a judgment could be entered, the legislature, by implication, excluded as mandatory the procedural matters involved here.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. In Re Jones“"Sec. 6. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no adoption shall be permitted except with the written consent of the living parents of the child * * * (e) In the case of a child placed by its parents in a child-placing agency or institution licensed by the State Department of Public Welfare to place children for adoption, it shall be sufficient for the living parents to consent in writing that such agency or institution place such child for adoption, and no further consent shall be required of such living parent."”
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.