Commonwealth v. Cooke’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 5 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The provision is that every ‘banker or broker who shall neglect or refuse to make the return and report required by the first and second sections o£ this act, shall, for every such neglect or refusal, be subject to a penalty of one thousand dollars.’ Adhering, then, to the words of the law, to what did. the Legislature refer when it said, ‘shall, for every such neglect or refusal, be subject to a penalty? ’ * * * Und the word ‘every’ been omitted, the language might have been dubious, but with it before us, as a part of the very letter of the act, we are admonished by the reference to resort to separate sections to ascertain the neglect or refusal referred to, and thus compelled to give the distributive word ‘every’ a reference to each: reddendum singula singulis.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. St. Louis Southwestern Ry. Co.

2. ““It is true that a penal law must be construed strictly, and according to its letter. But this strictness, which has run into an aphorism, means no more than that it is to be interpreted according to its language. . . . The purpose of the rule is to prevent acts from being brought within the scope of punishment, because courts may suppose they fall within the spirit of the law, though not within its terms.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Schmehl