Elliott v. Van Buren’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

45 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 46 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““We think there is no rule which can prevent ordinary witnesses from describing what they see, or from testifying concerning the kind of injury or sickness of others whom they have had occasion to consort with, unless it is something out of the common course of general information and experience, or unless the question presented involves medical knowledge beyond that of ordinary unprofessional persons.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Degroot v. Winter · Foster v. Krause

2. ““The term ‘best evidence’ is confined to cases where the law has divided testimony into primary and secondary. And there are no degrees of evidence except where some document or other instrument exists, the contents of which should be proved by an original rather than by other testimony, which is open to danger of inaccuracy.” Elliott v. Van Buren, 33 Mich. 49, 53 ( 20 Am. Rep. 668 ).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Michigan Bankers' Ass'n v. Ocean Accident & Guarantee Corp.

3. ““The declarations of a sick person, made from time -.to time, concerning, present sufferings and sensations (not being relations of past occurrences), are the usual' means of evidence where third persons testify on the-subject.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jones v. President of Portland