Cannon v. Phillips’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The doctrine of presumption of title rests upon the simple fact of long-continued use and enjoyment, and requires no aid from ‘ color of title. ’ Possession of land is prima-facie evidence of title; the law supposes that it had a legal origin, and when undisturbed for the period of twenty years, it becomes, in view of the law, an assurance of title of no less force or efficacy than the actual grant whose place it supplies. The presumption is not founded upon the idea that as a matter of fact a grant once existed, nor is it aided by the fact that the possession may have been held under some defective form of assurance: it rests alone upon a principle of public policy, to quiet the title of those who can show no other title than long-continued possession and use.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Suddath v. Beaty