The United States v. Phineas Bradley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 federal appellate · 8 district · 30 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 101 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Upon the whole, upon this point we are of opinion that there is no solid distinction in cases of this sort between bonds and other deeds containing conditions, covenants, or grants not malum in se, but illegal at the common law, and those containing conditions, covenants, or grants illegal by the express' prohibition of statutes. In each case the bonds or other deeds are void as to such conditions, covenants, or grants which are illegal, and are good as to all others which are legal and unexceptionable in their purport. The only exception is when the statute has not confined its prohibitions to the illegal conditions, covenants, or grants, but has expressly, or by necessary implication, avoided the whole instrument to all intents and purposes.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McBride v. Farrington · McCullough v. Smith

2. “is, that the bond, with the above condition, variant from that prescribed by law, was, qnder color of office, extorted from Deblois and his sureties, contrary to the statute,, by the then Secretary of the Navy, as the condition of his remaining in the office of purser, and receiving its emoluments. There is no pretence then to say, that it was a bond voluntarily given, or that, though different from the form prescribed by statute, it was received and. executed without objection. It was demanded of the party, upon the peril of losing his office; it was extorted under color of office, against the requisitions of the statute. It was plainly then an illegal bond; for no officer of the government has a right, by color of his office, to require from any subordinate officer, as a condition of holding office, that he should execute a bond with a condition different from that prescribed by law. That would be, not to execute, but to supersede the requisitions of law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Constable v. National Steamship Co.

3. ““That bonds and other deeds may, in many cases, be good in part, and void for the residue, where the residue is founded on illegality, but not malum in se, is a doctrine well founded in the common law, and has been recognized from a very early period.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McCullough v. Smith