23 Md. App. 337 - Wright v. Nugent’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 24 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 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““(1) Was Aldace Freeman Walker legally competent to make a Will on April 8, 1973? “(2) Is the writing filed in the Petition for Probate in this proceeding, dated April 8, 1973, wholly in the handwriting of Aldace Freeman Walker? “(3) Is the writing filed in the Petition for Probate in this proceeding, dated April 8, 1973, signed by Aldace Freeman Walker? “(4) Was the decedent, Aldace Freeman Walker, suffering from a temporary or permanent mental illness at the time of the execution of the paper writing dated April 8, 1973, purported to be the Last Will and Testament of the decedent to such an extent as to invalidate such paper writing as a Will? “(5) Was the decedent under any psychotic reactions marked by severe mood swings, reactions to supposed conspiracies against him, illusions, delusions and hallucinations, on April 8, 1973, to such an extent as to invalidate such paper writing as a Will? “(6) Was the paper writing dated April 8, 1973, purported to be the Last Will and Testament of Aldace Freeman Walker, executed while he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol to such an extent as to invalidate such paper writing as a Will? “(7) Was George Ainslie Nugent in a confidential relationship to Aldace Freeman Walker? “(8) If the answer to Issue No. 7 is ‘yes’, was the paper dated April 8, 1973, purported to be the Last Will and Testament of Aldace Freeman Walker, procured by fraud or undue influence exercised upon him by George Ainslie Nugent? “(9) Was Aldace Freeman Walk”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Nugent v. Wright

2. “[Section] 12-501 expressly gives a party the right to appeal to the Court of Special Appeals from a final judgment of an orphans’ court. The section combined former §§ 9 and 10 of Art. 5, giving effect to recent legislation regarding appellate jurisdiction, but otherwise, according to the Revisor, making only changes in style. The progenitors of § 12-501, however, appeared to speak in absolutes. Art. 5, § 64 as it appeared in the Codes of 1924, 1939 and 1951, and as § 60 in the Code of 1904, read: ‘From all decrees, orders, decisions and judgments, made by the orphans’ court, the party, who may deem himself aggrieved by such decree, order, decision or judgment, may appeal to the court of appeals.’ Chapter 399(4), Acts 1957, amended the section, and as codified as Art. 5, § 9 it read: ‘Any party may appeal to the Court of Appeals from any decree, order, decision or judgment of an orphans’ court.’ The amendment, in effect, merely omitted the language about an aggrieved party, presumably, in the view of the Court of Appeals, as surplusage.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 162 Md. App. 526 - Knight v. Princess Builders, Inc.

3. ““5236 Macomb Street N.W. Washington, D. C. Sunday — April 8th, 1973 “I, Aldace Freeman Walker, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do declare this to be my Last Will and Testament. “I desire and direct upon my death, that all my property, personal and real, of which I might die possessed be placed in a TRUST, the income of which is to be placed at the disposal of Elizabeth Irwin Hazard during the course of her natural life and that upon her death that the corpus of said TRUST be made payable to my grandson, Andrew Wright, or in the event of his demise to be made payable to my daughter, Suzanne Walker Wright. “I appoint George Ainslie Nugent to be the Executor of my Estate to serve without bond. Aldace Freeman Walker.” (iv) The orphans’ court should have submitted only one issue relating to competency of the decedent.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Nugent v. Wright