McClain v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis
311 U.S. 527 · 1941
Citation profile
39 federal appellate · 3 district · 8 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 108 later decisions (11 by the Supreme Court) — most recently July 2017 · most notably Helvering v. Hammel (1941), Helvering v. William Flaccus Oak Leather Co. (1941)
39 federal appellate · 3 district · 8 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.
Appellate journey
reviewedMcClain v. Commissioner (from Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Relies on Fairbanks v. United States · Watson v. Commissioner · Braun v. Commissioner · Pacific Nat. Bank v. Commissioner
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 108 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The answer is that we must apply the statute as we find it, leaving to Congress the correction of asserted inconsistencies and inequalities in its operation.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““ ‘Retirement’ aptly describes what occurred in the instant cases. The statute does not use the word in an unusual or artificial sense. In common understanding and according to dictionary definition the word 'retirement’ is broader in scope than 'redemption’; is not, as contended, synonymous with the latter, but includes it. Nothing in the legislative history of the provision requires us to attribute to the term used a meaning narrower than its accepted meaning in common speech.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““For the purposes of this chapter, amounts received by the holder upon the retirement of bonds, debentures, notes, or certificates or other evidences of indebtedness issued by any corporation (including those issued by a government or political subdivision thereof), with interest coupons or in registered form, shall be considered as amounts received in exchange therefor.” 26 U.S.C. § 117 (f), 1946 Ed.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.