MacDonald v. Time, Inc.’s Empirical Analysis
1983
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 3 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Robertson v. Wegmann · Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. United States · Portee v. Jaffee · Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corporation v. Caterpillar Tractor Company · Wehling v. Columbia Broadcasting System
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.
“But if the plaintiff had a valid cause of action here, there is no just reason why it should not survive his death. To say that a man’s defamed reputation dies with him is to ignore the realities of life and the bleak legacy which he leaves behind. There is no valid reason which should deny the family of Kenneth MacDonald the right to clear his name and seek compensation for its destruction. Why should a claim for a damaged leg survive one’s death, where a claim for a damaged name does not. After death, the leg cannot be healed, but the reputation can. [MacDonald, 554 F.Supp. at 1054 (footnote omitted).]”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“a newspaper would hesitate to publish a story”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.