Ex Parte Williams’s Empirical Analysis
1940
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 51 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 57 later decisions — most recently February 2017 · most notably Tietjens v. City of St. Louis (1949), State Ex Rel. Williams v. Marsh (1982)
2 federal appellate · 51 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.
Relationships
Relies on Yick Wo v. Hopkins · Augustus Reetz v. People of the State of Michigan · St. Louis Gunning Advertising Co. v. City of St. Louis · City of Monticello v. Bates · City of St. Louis v. Baskowitz
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 57 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““On the other hand, it is equally well settled that it is not necessary that statutes or ordinances prescribe a rule of action where they deal with situations which require the vesting of some discretion in public officials, as, for instance, where it is difficult or impracticable to lay down a definite, comprehensive rule; or where the discretion relates to the administration of a police regulation and is necessary to protect the public morals, health, safety, and general welfare; ...” (Emphasis added.)”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.