Knutson v. Nielsen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

19 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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[a]n unlicensed driver is neither barred from recovering for injuries received by himself in an automobile accident nor liable as a matter of law for injuries sustained by another, because there is no causal connection between his failure to comply with the licensing statute and the accident. For similar reasons it is held that lack of a driver’s license in violation of statute is not even evidence of negligence. The Massachusetts court has taken the view contra that failure to have a driver’s license is some evidence of negligence. However, this is strictly a minority rule and is opposed to what we feel to be the sounder reasoning.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Kronzer v. First Nat. Bank of Minneapolis · Hagel v. Schoenbauer

2. “Under our decisions, which have adopted the majority view, whether [the driver] was driving with a driver’s license or an instruction permit, or with no license at all, is not material.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hagel v. Schoenbauer