Burch v. Hardwicke’s Empirical Analysis
1878
Citation profile
17 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently June 1923
17 state decisions
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.
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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““No duty is more general and all-pervading than this. It extends alike to towns and cities as to the country. It looks to the preservation of order and security in the state, at elections, and at all public places; the protection of citizens, strangers, travelers at railway stations, at steamboat landings; the enforcement of the laws against .intemperance, gambling, lotteries, violations of the Sabbath, and, in fine, the suppression of all those disorders which affect the peace and dignity of the state and the security of the citizen. The instrumentalities by which these objects are effected, however appointed, by whatever name called, are agencies of the state, and not of the municipalities for which they are appointed or elected.” (Burch v. Hardwicke, 30 Gratt. 38 .)”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“‘ ‘ The distinction recognized in all of them is between officers whose duties are exclusively of a local nature and officers appointed for a particular locality, but yet whose duties are of a public or general nature. When they are of the latter character they are State officers, whether the legislature itself makes the appointment or delegates its authority to the municipality.” . . . ‘ ‘ The instrumentalities by which these objects are effected, however appointed, by whatever name called, are agencies of the State, and not of the municipalities for which they are appointed or elected.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“‘ ‘ There is a recognized distinction between State officers whose duties concern the State at large, or the general public, although exercised within defined territorial limits, and municipal officers whose functions relate exclusively to the particular municipality. ■ (Dill. Mun. Corp. § 33.) A State officer may be connected with some of the municipal functions, but he must derive his power from a State statute and execute his powers in obedience to a State law.” •”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.