Richardson v. Perales’s Empirical Analysis
1971
Citation profile
4,369 federal appellate · 3,009 district · 476 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 19,588 later decisions (47 by the Supreme Court) — most recently October 2025 · most notably Mathews v. Eldridge (1976), Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex (1979)
4,369 federal appellate · 3,009 district · 476 state decisions — followed in 42 states
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.
Appellate journey
reviewedthe decision below (from Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Relies on Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · Consolidated Edison Co of New York v. National Labor Relations Board · Goldberg v. Kelly · Consolo v. Federal Maritime Commission
Cited together with Consolidated Edison Co of New York v. National Labor Relations Board · Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · Mathews v. Eldridge · Heckler v. Campbell · Goldberg v. Kelly
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 19,588 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”
787 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“The findings of the Commissioner of Social Security as to any fact, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive ....”
113 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”
112 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.