Ness v. Ness’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The provision's for care and custody of minor children may not be modified unless it be shown that the circumstances of the parties have changed or unless material facts are disclosed, which were either unknown or could not have been ascertained with reasonable diligence at the time when the last prior determination was made. See Duffy v. King, Okl., 350 P.2d 280 and cases cited therein. “There exists no rigid formula by which to measure the nature of proof necessary to establish a change in circumstances sufficient to justify a revision of the custody arrangements. The paramount consideration in determining the question is the welfare of the child, and the trial court must be guided by what appears to be for the child’s [best] interest. * * * ””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gilbert v. Gilbert · Gibbons v. Gibbons

2. ““The action of a trial court in refusing to modify a child custody order or judgment will not be disturbed on appeal unless so clearly against the weight of the evidence as to constitute an abuse of discretion.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lyman v. Lyman

3. ““We are impressed by her statement to the trial judge that she didn’t want to ‘completely take them [the children] away from the father’ but ‘just wanted the right to love them’ herself.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gilbert v. Gilbert