Jones v. Jones’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The facts of the case are that there is a marriage of the pauper with Francis Burns, which is prima facie valid, but the year before that took place she was the wife of Richard Winter, and if he was alive at the time of the second marriage, it was illegal and she was guilty of bigamy. But are we to presume that Winter was then alive? If the pauper had been indicted for bigamy, it would clearly not be sufficient. In that case Winter must have been proved to have been alive at the time of the second marriage. It is contended that his death ought to have been proved, but the answer is that the presumption of law is, that he was not alive when the consequence of his being so is, that another person has committed a criminal act .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bowman v. Little

2. ““The reasoning upon which this decision rests is that in such a case the presumption of a marriage arising from cohabitation and repute is met and overcome by the stronger presumption that a man will not incur the guilt of felony and the danger which attends it by marrying another woman during the life of one to whom he had previously been lawfully married.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Owens v. Bentley

3. “but it cannot, we think (observed this Court in that case) be said that the preponderance of authority is the other way.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bowman v. Little