Baker v. Baker’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “even though it may be in the best interest of the child for [the legal father] to be the father, the best interest of the child is not the test in this situation. It would be a contradiction to say the presumption of legitimacy can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence but it is in the best interest of the child not to rebut the presumption of legitimacy.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re CL · In the Interest of C. L.

2. “(a) All children born in wedlock or within the usual period of gestation thereafter are legitimate. (b) The legitimacy of a child born as described in subsection (a) of this Code section may be disputed. Where possibility of access exists, the strong presumption is in favor of legitimacy and the proof must be clear to establish the contrary. [[Image here]]”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 306 Ga. App. 327 - Baker v. Lankford

3. “this Court has recently held that the `best interests of the child' standard should be applied when a party seeks to delegitimize a legitimate child and to break up an existing legally recognized family unit already in existence.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re CL