Hart v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Nor do we understand, that the rule long established in courts of equity, that he who seeks equity must do equity, is qualified or abrogated in favor of a party who seeks to remove a cloud upon his title to real estate by reason of illegal proceedings, taken to enforce a valid tax assessed thereon; and that such jmrty may demand, as a right, from a court of equity, that such cloud shall bo removed without his doing what justice and equity demand,— that is, pay the tax. None of the cases in this court recognise any such right on the part of the plaintiff, and we think no such right exists. It would bo a gross impeachment of the power of a court of equity to deny it the right to demand of its suitors good faith and common honesty, before It shall be compelled to grant them any relief.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Allison v. Corson