Connor v. United States’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “Plaintiff’s brief also cites various definitions of the word “nail” in Webster’s New International Dictionary, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, and The New Century Dictionary, all of which refer to a slender piece of metal usually or generally with one end pointed. That conforms to our conception of the meaning of the term “nail” in com mon speech and, consequently, we regard the claim for classification of the imported articles as nails to be untenable. Equally untenable is the claim that either of the exhibits represents what may properly be termed a spike. According to the definition cited in plaintiff’s brief from Webster’s New International Dictionary, a spike is “a kind of very large nail” which does not, in our opinion, adequately describe the subject merchandise. [Emphasis quoted.]”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. C. J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc. v. United States