Collie v. Tucker’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 state decisions

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

1. ““In the present case Collie left all his property to his wife and added the unmistakable direction that it should be ‘absolutely hers.’ In view of this clear expression of Collie’s intention that his widow would own the property outright instead of merely for life, the attempted limitation over must be declared void. We are not willing to set aside the rule of property that was announced in the Bernstein case and that has been adhered to ever since.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. McCastlain v. Berry

2. ““Fourth. It is my will in case my wife should not use and dispose of all my property during her lifetime, that whatever she may leave undisposed of, shall be equally divided between her heirs and my heirs.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ahrens v. McNutt

3. “The [probate] court was not called upon to determine the validity of the fourth paragraph in Collie's will, for a decision of that issue was not essential to a distribution of the estate.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Dickerson v. Union Nat. Bank of Little Rock