Carnes v. Cunningham’s Empirical Analysis
1961
Citation profile
7 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently August 1985
7 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 McDowell v. Hightower · O'Meara v. Moore, Dist. Judge · Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Shell · Firestone v. Hall
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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““It is true that Courts of Civil Appeals have authority to issue writs of mandamus to compel a district judge to enter a judgment where the undisputed facts support and require the rendition of the one judgment; or, where the jury has found all the facts in issue necessary to the rendition of such judgment. In such case, the rendition of judgment is purely ministerial, and may be compelled by mandamus. Art. V, sec. 6, Vernon’s Ann. Tex.Const. “The case before us does not involve a situation where the court has refused to act at all. Here, Relators filed their motion for judgment, and it was considered and acted upon by the court. A writ may issue to compel the exercise of discretion where there has been a refusal to act at all, but it will not be granted for the purpose of directing the exercise of discretion in any certain manner. McDowell v. Hightower, 111 Tex. 585 , 242 S.W. 753 ; O’Meara et al. v. Moore, 142 Tex. 350 , 178 S.W.2d 510 . “The burden is upon Relators to show a clear and absolute right to the judgment sought to be compelled by mandamus. Where no clear duty to enter a particular judgment is shown to exist, the entry of judgment involves the exercise of judicial discretion and does not call for the performance of a purely ministerial act.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage““It is a general rule, and one recognized by Texas courts, that whenever the rendition of the judgment involves no judicial discretion, but is purely ministerial, the same may be compelled by mandamus. However, trial courts are vested with broad discretion relating to the control and disposition of their dockets, and the authority of appellate courts to intervene and to order a judge to enter judgment on a jury verdict is exercised with this extensive discretion in mind.””
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.