Coachman v. Sims’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 16 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ 'The only question, therefore, which is not elementary, is whether or not the mere fact that the plaintiff’s third wife was living at the time of his marriage to his fifth wife is sufficient proof that the fifth marriage was in its inception adulterous and bigamous. It will be observed that the evidence is entirely silent as to whether the third wife had been divorced, and whether there had been a separation according to the laws and usages of the Creek Nation. It will also be observed that between the third and the fifth marriage there had been a fourth, and that the fourth wife was dead at the time of the fifth. Under the facts of this case, we are satisfied that, in order to uphold the validity of this marriage, in the absence of an affirmative showing that there had been no lawful separation, the presumption will be that a divorce had been secured. Marriage should not be destroyed on presumption. The law is astute to preserve the sanctity of the marriage relation, the legitimacy of children, and stability of descent and distribution, and therefore presumes innocence and virtue, in the absence of proof. The wisdom of this presumption is rendered apparent by the facts in this case. This rule is well established by the authorities. * * *”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Love's Estate · Norton v. Coffield