State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

71 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 72 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In the main, the eases regard diagnosis as the test to determine whether a practice or treatment is included in the terms ‘medicine’ and ‘surgery.’ This is a practical test.- A doctor who- advises his patient to sleep in the open air is treating him. Such advice, however, is based upon a knowledge of the patient’s condition obtained by diagnosis. The defendant professed to be able to ascertain by examination of the patient the cause of his trouble — a result rather beyond that which ordinarily attends the diagnosis of the regular practitioner. The method or extent of .the examination is not the controlling feature. When the practitioner makes such examination of the patient as he regards as sufficient to indicate to him the cause of the trouble, and to indicate its proper treatment, he has diagnosed the case.” (p. 263.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Slocum v. City of Fredonia

2. ““. . . The Legislature thought, perhaps, that this act was necessary to protect credulous sick people from injury at the hands of charlatans and quacks, with their specious promises of a sure cure without drugs; or it may have been thought necessary to forbid harmless practices in order to insure protection against those that are dangerous and hurtful. Sick people sometimes grow desperate in their search for a cure, or their judgment becomes weakened, so that they fall an easy prey to the ingenious and varied devices of the pretended healer. ’ ’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Davis v. Beeler

3. ““ ‘When an exception is contained in a. statute defining an offense and constitutes a part of the offense an indictment for such offense must negative the exception; but when the statute contains a proviso exempting a class therein referred to from the operation of the statute an indictment need not negative the proviso. The accused must make the exemption a ground of defense.’ ” [Citing State v. O’Brien, 74 Mo. 549 .]”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Saak