Dickinson v. United States’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1,140 federal appellate · 151 district · 36 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 1,738 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “has not painted a complete or accurate picture of his activities.”

   68 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Jessen v. United States · Pine v. United States

2. ““(1) The term ‘duly ordained minister of religion’ means a person who has been ordained, in accordance with the ceremonial, ritual, or discipline of a church, religious sect, or organization established on the basis of a community of faith and belief, doctrines and practices of a religious character, to preach and to teach the doctrines of such church, sect, or organization and to administer the rites and ceremonies thereof in public worship, and who as his regular and customary vocation preaches and teaches the principles of religion and administers the ordinances of public worship as embodied in the creed or principles of such church, sect, or organization. “(2) The term ‘regular minister of religion’ means one who as his customary vocation preaches and teaches the principles of religion of a church, a religious sect, or organization of which he is a member, without having been formally ordained as a minister of religion, and who is recognized by such church, sect, or organization as a regular minister.””

   12 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Hill · United States v. Sturgis

3. ““ * * * he (Dickinson) dedicated approximately 100 hours each month to actual pioneer missionary work — delivering public sermons, door-to-door preaching, conducting home Bible studies. In the remaining 50 hours devoted to religious activities each month, Dickinson studied, planned sermons and discourses, and wrote letters connected with his work. A substantial portion of this time was spent conducting three to four meetings each week of the ‘Company’ or congregation at a public hall in Coalinga. Dickinson arranged for and presided over these meetings, usually delivering discourses at them. He also instructed prospective ministers in the proper delivery of sermons at the ‘Company’s’ Theocratic Ministry School. Dickinson received no salary for his missionary or company servant work. He lived on $35 a month earned by a weekly average of five hours of radio repair work. This modest income, a low $15-17.50, a month rental for an apartment, self-performance of household tasks, and invitations to various private homes enabled Dickinson to subsist.” Dickinson v. United States, 346 U.S. 339 , 393, 74 S.Ct. 152 , 156.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Pate v. United States · 186 F. Supp. 203 - United States v. Tettenburn