30 Md. App. 577 - Powers v. Hadden’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In Piotrowski v. State, 179 Md. 377 , the Court of Appeals continued custody of an eight year old girl in the maternal grandparents who had kept the child since she was four months old. The holding in this case is more precedentially persuasive of the proposition that the time away from the natural parent should overcome the parental presumption since it appears to have been the controlling factor in the court’s determination. The father and his wife, whom he married after the child’s mother died during the child’s infancy, were ‘well behaved, industrious, law abiding people’ as were the grandparents who had custody. Without expressly so stating, the Court seemed to have decided to continue custody in the grandparents because it was doubtful that a change in custody would improve the child’s environment and that, due to the substantial time away from her father, it was possible that it would be detrimental to her. That period of time, however, was nearly eight years, running continuously from infancy to the date of trial. Once again the voluntary surrender of custody was a factor which was also considered by the Court.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 33 Md. App. 333 - Ross v. Hoffman

2. ““While we recognize that our review of custody awards is not confined by the ‘clearly erroneous rule’, Sullivan v. Auslaender, 12 Md. App. 1, 3-4 , neither should we be oblivious to the fact that the chancellor had the opportunity to view each witness’s demeanor, hear their expressive intonations, and to judge them — to some degree — on their deportment and attitude while testifying. We, on the contrary, are limited to the printed words of a cold record, ‘Ordinarily the court or judge who has had the parties before him, has the best opportunity to observe their temper, temperament, and demeanor, and so decide what would be for the child’s best interest, and unless there is some sound reason to the contrary his findings ought not to be disturbed.’ Piotrowski v. State, 179 Md. at 381.” Powers v. Hadden, 30 Md. App. at 588 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 33 Md. App. 333 - Ross v. Hoffman

3. ““When custody is denied a natural parent, that denial inevitably results from custodial unfitness amounting to forfeiture, as by failing to support the child, Dietrich v. Anderson, 185 Md. 103, 116 , ‘.. . or where some exceptional circumstances render such custody detrimental to the best interests of the child.’ Ross v. Pick, 199 Md. [341] at 351; Trenton v. Christ, 216 Md. [418] at 420. (Emphasis added).” Powers, 30 Md. App. at 584 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 33 Md. App. 333 - Ross v. Hoffman