Richard v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 12 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““There was recently before us the case of Donaldson v. Johnson, 235 Ark. 348 , 359 S. W. 2d 810 , which involved a woman of advanced age who suffered from diabetes and. other disorders and would have intervals in which she was mentally unstable but at other times was perfectly competent. She deeded her home to her granddaughter and in that case we said: ‘The test of mental competency to execute a deed is found in Petree v. Petree, 211 Ark. 654 , 201 S. W. 2d 1009 , where we quoted Pledger v. Birkhead, 156 Ark. 443 , 246 S. W. 510 , as the applicable rule in cases of this kind. “If the maker of a deed, will, or other instrument has sufficient mental capacity to retain in hi,s memory without prompting the extent and condition of his property and to comprehend how he is disposing of it and to whom and upon what consideration, then he possesses sufficient mental capacity to execute such instrument. Sufficient mental ability to exercise a reasonable judgment concerning these matters in protecting his own interest m dealing with (mother is all the law requires. If a person has such mental capacity, then, in the absence of fraud, duress, or undue influence, mental weakness, whether produced by old age or through physical infirmities, will not invalidate an instrument executed' by him. McCulloch v. Campbell, 49 Ark. 367 , 5 S. W. 590 ; Seawel v. Dirst, 70 Ark. 166 , 66 S. W. 1058 ; Taylor v. McClintock, 87 Ark. 243 , 112 S. W. 405 ; McEvoy v. Tucker, 115 Ark. 430 , 171 S. W. 888 .” [”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Reed v. Radebaugh · Gross v. Young

2. “It is not a question as to mental condition before or on the afternoon of the day on which she executed the deed, but in the morning at the time the deed was signed did she have the capacity that is demanded by the authority quoted above.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Reed v. Radebaugh