Sheldon v. . Edwards’s Empirical Analysis
1866
Citation profile
3 federal appellate · 27 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 37 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently May 1994 · most notably Brown Chemical Co. v. Meyer (1891), Sword v. Low (1887)
3 federal appellate · 27 state decisions — followed in 12 states
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.
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 37 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““There seems no sound reason why a judgment on an issue in bar, though it also embrace an issue in abatement, should not conclude the parties in all future controversies. If it do not, the provisions of the Code and the decisions of this court allowing such issues to be made and tried at the same time are of no force. Of what benefit to either party to try an issue, if the finding is of no consequence and if the judgment of no effect? The law presumes it was properly tried, that all the facts bearing upon the issue were fully and fairly presented. Why, then, should it be retried? * * * Assuming that the case stands the same as if an answer of matter in abatement as well as in bar had been interposed, the result is the same as if the case were disposed of on the merits and judgment entered accordingly. Here the fact affirmatively appears that the plaintiff was defeated upon the merits of a judgment entered upon the merits; not a word of nonsuit or dismissal appears in the record.””
1 later decision 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.