Fox v. United States’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““Plaintiff’s position is that he has satisfied each and every provision of law to entitle him to the statutory payment. He sees the statute as susceptible of only one interpretation and, therefore, resists any reference to its legislative background. As a basic principle in construing legislation it is undoubtedly sound to refrain from introducing extraneous considerations where the meaning of the law is clear and unmistakable. By no means do we reject this doctrine. “But words do not have meaning in and of themselves. They serve as a medium of communication only to the extent that they are given meaning by placing them in their proper perspective in relation to facts, circumstances, and attitudes. Words are symbols but their meanings are rarely, if ever, unequivocally clear without some necessary reference to extrinsics.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Abbott v. United States · Abbott v. United States

2. “The bill has a dual purpose: * * * (2) to induce Reserve officers, by pro viding some measure of economic security, to remain voluntarily in the active service and thereby to reduce expensive personnel turnover and to increase the effectiveness of the armed services through the retention of competent and experienced officers. ****** Today and for the foreseeable future, the Armed Forces require large numbers of reservists on extended active duty to meet the personnel needs of national security. To attract and retain the required number of capable reservists on active duty, a reasonable degree of security must be provided to them. There is now no satisfactory method for providing readjustment pay or other monetary cushion to soften the transition to civilian life for those reservists who are involuntarily released. The absence of such an authority deters continued active duty beyond obligated periods and creates hardships for those persons who are actually released. ****** * * * So long as our national policy requires reservists on active duty to augment the regular forces, some compensation to these reservists in readjusting to civilian life seems a justifiable element of the cost of national defense. A part of the justification for the bill flows from the obligation to treat these reservists fairly ; at the same time, significant benefits may accrue to the Government. This measure could enhance stability in the officer structure of the Armed Forces. Capable Reserve officers,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Henneberger v. United States