Townsend v. Lowrey’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In the divorce decree the Chancellor awarded appellant 'the temporary care and custody of Alicia Lynn Townsend, infant child of the parties’ and specifically retained jurisdiction for the purpose of making further orders relative to custody. * * * * After a hearing on May 14, 1962, the Chancellor granted custody of the little girl to her mother (appellee) for the summer months, permitting appellee to take her to California and requiring a $500.00 bond to guarantee the child’s return to White County by August 15, 1962. On April 26, 1963, appellee again petitioned for change of custody, praying that she be granted her daughter’s custody during the school year, giving appellant custody during the summer months. After another hearing the Chancellor on July 8, 1973, stating that ‘it now appears that it would be for the best interest of said child that said custody provisions be revised,’ granted appellee custody of the child during the school year in California and appellant custody in Arkansas during the summer. “We have no doubt of appellant’s love for his daughter. Testimony reveals that appellant cared for her as a baby while appellee worked, before the parties separated. The Arkansas Welfare Department report indicates that at a brother’s behest, he quit a pipeline job in Michigan so that he could help his aged parents raise his daughter.’’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Cousins v. Smith