Hinds v. Keith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 federal appellate ·

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

1. ““The courts in many of the states have held that in cases in which knowledge, motive, or intent may he imputed to parties hy circumstantial evidence they are permitted to testify directly as to the existence of such motive or intent, and the ruling of the court below was in harmony with these decisions. But we think the sounder principle and better rule is to exclude such evidence. The Supreme Court of Alabama has declared that the rule is well settled in that state that a ‘party certifying for himself should not be permitted to state the motive or intention with which he did an act; that such motive or intention is an inferential fact, to be drawn by the jury from proven attendant facts and circumstances.’ Burke v. State, 71 Ala. 382 ; Whizenant v. State, Id. 383 . In actions at law in the courts of the United States the rules of evidence and the law of evidence generally of the state within which such courts are held prevail. Rev. St. § 721 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 581]; Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Union Trust Co., 112 U. S. 250 , 5 Sup. Ct. 119 [ 28 L. Ed. 708 ]; Ex parte Fisk, 113 U. S. 720 , 5 Sup. Ct. 724 [ 28 L. Ed. 1117 ].””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. L. Bucki & Son Lumber Co. v. Atlantic Lumber Co.