Freeman v. Chaplic’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Out of choice, necessity, or a sense of family responsibility, it has been common for close relatives to draw together and participate in the duties and the satisfaction of a common home. Decisions concerning child rearing, which . . . have [been] recognized as entitled to constitutional protection, long have been shared with grandparents or other relatives who occupy the same household—indeed who may take on major responsibility for rearing of the children. Especially in times of adversity, such as the death of a spouse or economic need, the broader family has tended to come together for mutual sustenance and to maintain or rebuild a secure home life.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re TJ · In re T.J.

2. “[a]s a general matter, granting custody to a party opposed by the parents where neither the parents nor the parents' nominee is unfit or unsuitable . . . would raise serious constitutional difficulties.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re TJ

3. “ties of affection which exist between a child and a person who has had custody of the child must yield to the desires of the parents to raise the child in a fit environment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re TJ