Smith v. Gallagher’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

60 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 64 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““And in the exercise of this incredible authority Mr. White would not be answerable to anyone for misbehavior or usurpations. Not holding a constitutional office he would not be subject to impeachment; being clothed with judicial sanction he would be immune from criminal prosecution; engaged in governmental business he could not be sued civilly. No person in the United States may constitutionally wear such impenetrable armor against responsibility for possible illegal performance. The clanking of such armor would be an incongruous sound anywhere, but particularly so in Philadelphia which heard the music of the Liberty Bell proclaiming ‘Liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.’ One of the reasons why Americans rebelled against the tyrannical King George III was described by Thomas Jefferson: ‘He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our People, and eat out their substance.’ ””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gwinn v. Kane · Gwinn v. Kane

2. ““This is not the place to discuss reorganization of the courts of Philadelphia County, but it is to be hoped that proper constitutional action will be taken to dissolve the seven individual courts of Philadelphia and amalgamate them into one court of common pleas, with one president judge, who will have authority to assign the judges to the various departments of work and to schedule the court’s business so as to remove all overlapping or collision of effort and endeavor, creating in the end a homogeneous, close-knit, harmonious working court. “Had there been one president judge having administrative direction over all judges assignable to the criminal courts of Philadelphia County when the Leonard petition was filed, he would have decided, after consultation, of course, with the whole body of judges, whether he should call upon the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, under the Act of April 9, 1929, P. L. 177 (Administrative Code of 1929, P. L. 177, §907, 71 P.S. §297, which provides, inter alia: ‘When the president judge, in the district having jurisdiction of any criminal proceedings, before any court of oyer and terminer, general jail delivery, or quarter sessions, in this Commonwealth, shall request the Attorney General to do so, in writing, setting forth that, in his judgment, the case is a proper one for the Commonwealth’s intervention, the Attorney General is hereby authorized and empowered to retain and employ a special attorney or attorneys, as he may deem necessar”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gwinn v. Kane

3. ““It should be stated here that much of the confusion, complications and complexities in this case did not result from the error of any single judge but was caused by the strange composition of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Instead of one integrated Court with a President Judge over all, the Court is made up of seven separate,Courts, each compris ing three judges with a president judge of its own. Each of these seven courts exercises a certain amount of autonomy which separates it from the other six, as much as if it were in another county. “Had there been one President Judge having administrative direction over all judges assignable to the criminal courts of Philadelphia County when the Leonard petition was filed, he would have decided, after consultation, of course, with the whole body of judges, whether he should call upon.the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, under [section 907.] “The lack of a single coordinating president judge in the Philadelphia district, however, did not suspend the applicability to Philadelphia of the quoted Act. The duty still devolved on Judge Alessandroni to take up with the other judges of the Court the question as to whether, under the circumstances presented to him, the Attorney General should be requested to supersede the District Attorney. Instead of considering this definitive procedure, Judge Alessandroni acted on his own volition and displaced the District Attorney.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gwinn v. Kane