Estes v. Albers’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The parents cannot make a valid irrevocable contract which will relieve them of the duty to support and educate their minor children; the rights of children to support and maintenance cannot be bargained away. Accordingly, parental agreements which have the effect of making a child a public charge cannot be countenanced, and a support agreement which is injurious to the best interest of a child is invalid for any purpose. In particular, the father may not by contract avoid his duty to support and educate his minor children, and a wife cannot contract away the right of children to be supported by their father. An agreement between the father and mother which attempts to relieve the father of his obligation is, as between the father and children, ineffective as a violation of public policy; and where the father and mother are equally and jointly charged by statute for the maintenance of their children, an agreement by the mother to perform her statutory duty does not discharge the father’s statutory obligation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Thomas v. Hauge

2. “recover from the father a reasonable share of the necessary support of a child born out of wedlock,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In Re the Support Obligation of Loomis