Perkins v. Simonds’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““I conclude, therefore, that if the land in controversy came to Philo John Prescott by descent from his father, it did not descend to the sisters of the half-blood on the death of Philo John, but to the brother and sister of John Prescott who were living at that time, and to the children of his brothers who had deceased before that time, by right of representation. “That an undivided one-half of the land did descend to Philo John from his father, seems too clear for argument. The only room for controversy is in respect to the other half thereof, which did not vest in him until the death of his brother, David Prescott, in 1845. The question to be settled here is, whether he took such last mentioned half by descent from his brother or from his father. If from his brother, then the brother and not the father, is the ancestor, .and the sisters of the half-blood, being of the blood of such ancestor, will inherit that half of the estate by virtue of section 4, above quoted. But, as we have already seen, if Philo John took that half of the estate by descent from his father, the sisters cannot inherit the same.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Follansbee v. Owens

2. ““We are not at liberty to disregard the authority of the!se cases, and they settle th'e law to be that, on the death of David Prescott. under age and unmarried, Philo John took the undivided half of the land in controversy, which had not previously descended to him. not as a portion of the estate of his deceased brother, but as a portion of the estate of his deceased father, John Prescott. In other words, the inheritance came to Philo John by descent from his father, and not by descent from his brother. “It follows that the sisters of Philo John, of the half blood, under whom the defendant claims title to the land described in the complaint, are excluded from the inheritance thereof as heirs of Philo John, and the land descended to the living brother and sister and to the children of the deceased brothers - of John Prescott.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Follansbee v. Owens