Marshall v. . Flinn’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “He then instructed the jury, `that weakness of mind was not, of itself , a valid objection, as the law did not undertake to measure the size of a man's intellect; that it did not require that he should be a wise man; that if he was between the wise and the foolish sort, although he inclined rather to the foolish, he was, in law, capable of making a last will and testament, etc.; that he must do it with understanding and reason, and if the jury should be satisfied that, at the time of executing the supposed will, William Marshall had not understanding and reason, they should find a verdict against the will; that if the supposed testator knew what he was doing at the time of making the supposed will, and that he was giving his property to the plaintiffs, and that they would be entitled to it, provided the forms of law were complied with, then they were to find in favor of the will.' We are at a loss to perceive any error in this part of the charge; it correctly embodies the rule of law upon the question of the alleged insanity of the testator, and is very nearly in the language of some of the most approved writers on the subject.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Creecy

2. “That the only influence which the law condemns, and which destroys the validity of a will, is a fraudulent influence, controlling the mind of the testator, so as to induce him to make a will which he otherwise would not have made.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Creecy