Ward v. Mulford’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 30 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 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““If the Mexican government had made any rightful disposition of lands which she held as sovereign, neither the United States nor (ho state, as suc- < ceding sovereigns, could disregard it, any more than in the, ease of other lands. But by this we do not desire to be understood as holding that the Mexican government, or this state, has the same power of absolute alienation over lands held in virine of their sovereignty which they have over other lands. The land which the slate holds by virtue.of her sovereignty, as is well understood. is sucli as is covered and uncovered by the flow and ebb of the neap or ordinary tides. Such land is held by the state in trust and for the benefit of the people. The right of the state is subservient to the. public rights of navigation and fishery, and theoretically at least the state can make no disposition of them prejudicial to the right of the .public to use them for the purposes of navigation and fishery, and, whatever disposition she does make of them, her grantee takes them upon the same terms upon which she holds them, and, of course, subject, to the public rights above mentioned. But this restriction does not prevent her from disposing of them so as to advance and promote the interests of navigation.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Carver v. San Pedro, L. A. & S. L. R. · Western Pac. Ry. Co. v. Southern Pac. Co.