McDonald v. Pless’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

618 federal appellate · 84 district · 455 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 1,574 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[L]et it once be established that verdicts solemnly made and publicly returned into court can be attacked and set aside on the testimony of those who took part in their publication and all verdicts could be, and many would be, followed by an inquiry in the hope of discovering something which might invalidate the finding. Jurors would be harassed and beset by the defeated party in an effort to secure from them evidence of facts which might establish misconduct sufficient to set aside a verdict. If evidence thus secured could be thus used, the result would be to make what was intended to be a private deliberation, the constant subject of public investigation; to the destruction of all frankness and freedom of discussion and conference.”

   121 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Lohr v. Tittle · Scogin v. Century Fitness, Inc.

2. ““The rule, endorsed by this court in this ease, that a juror may not impeach his own verdict is based upon controlling considerations of public policy which in such cases chooses the lesser of two evils. “While jurors should not reach a verdict by lot, or, as in this case, by averaging the amounts suggested by each, the verdict may not be set aside on the testimony of a juror as to his misconduct or that of his colleagues.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Barry v. Legler · McCleskey v. Kemp