Stuart v. School District No. 1’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 33 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 39 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““To require a municipal corporation, after so long an acquiescence, to defend in a mere private suit tlio irregularity, not only oí its own action, but even oí tho legislature that permitted such action to be had, could not be justified by the principles of law, much less by those of public policy. We may justly take cognizance in these cases of the notorious fact that municipal action is often exceedingly informal and irregular, when after all no wrong or illegality has been intended, and the real purpose of tho law has been had in view and been accomplished, so that it may be said tho spirit of the law has been kept while tho letter has been disregarded. Wo may also find in the statutes many Ínstameos oí careless legislation under which municipalities have acted for many years until important interests havo sprung up which might be crippled and destroyed if then, for the first time, matters oí form in legislative action wore suffered to be questioned. If every municipality must be subject to be called into court at any time to defend its original organization and its franchises at the will of any dissatisfied citizen who may feel disposed to question them, and subject to dissolution, perhaps, or to be crippled in authority and power if defects appear, however complete and forma] may have been the recognition of its rights and privileges on the part alike of the state and its citizens, it may very justly bo said that few of our municipalities can be entirely certain of the g”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Austrian v. Guy

2. ““ The Legislature shall provide for a system of common schools, by which a school shall be kept up and supported in each school-district at least three months in every year; and any school-district neglecting to keep up and support such a school may be deprived of its equal proportion of the interest of the public fund.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Belles v. Burr

3. ““Schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Attorney General v. Connolly