United States v. Thomas’s Empirical Analysis
1988
Citation profile
How this case has been cited
Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently March 2012
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 10 U.S.C. § 923 · 18 U.S.C. § 1014
Relies on United States v. Weger · Head v. Hunter
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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he test for forgery — and derivatively for uttering a forged writing — is not whether the writing was a cause in fact or a sine qua non but whether it “would, if genuine, apparently impose a legal liability on another or change his legal right or liability to his prejudice.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“This is not to suggest that appellant committed no crime or that the Government is without legal recourse to punish the misconduct. We shall not, however, attempt here to anticipate and pass upon the several avenues that may be available to the Government. We are mindful that Article 123, in its present form, creates a trap for unwary prosecutors, in that the legal-efficacy requirement may be overlooked. Our review, however, convinces us that Congress meant to inscribe this requirement into the law of forgery. If it is time to relax or abolish the requirement, that is a judgment for Congress to make.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Any person subject to this chapter who, with intent to defraud— (1) falsely makes or alters any signature to, or any part of, any writing which would, if genuine, apparently impose a legal liability on another or change his legal right or liability to his prejudice; or (2) utters, offers, issues, or transfers such a writing, known by him to be so made or altered; is guilty of forgery and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.