Steele v. Southern Ry.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““The reasons for-the rule are: First. The contractual relation between the carrier and passenger, by which it is incumbent on the carrier to transport with safety; hence the burden of explaining failure of performance should be on the carrier. Second. The cause of the accident, if not exclusively within the knowledge of the carrier, is usually better known to the carrier, and this superior knowledge makes it just that the carrier should explain.” (Evidently the court proceeds upon this idea. The knowledge of every agent of the carrier, not only as to the conductor of the train as the agent in control of the train, but as to the condition of the roadbed by the other agents whose duty it is to keep up the roadbed, is in law the knowledge of the carrier.) “Third. Injury to a passenger by a carrier is something that does not usually happen when the carrier is exercising due care, hence the fact of injury affords a presumption that such care is wanting.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bryce v. Southern Ry. Co.