Puget Mill Co. v. Brown’s Empirical Analysis
59 F. 35 · 1893
Citation profile
6
cited by 6 later decisions
June 1897
most recently cited
3 federal appellate ·
Relationships
Relies on Lee v. Johnson · Puget Mill Co. v. Brown
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.
““Tlie defendant in tlie court below (the plaintiff in error here) is tin holder of a patent of the United States for a parcel of land in ‘Michigan issued to him under tlie homestead laws, and the present suit was brought to charge him as trustee of the property, and to compel a conveyance to> the plaintiff. The patent having been issued by officers of the land department, to whose supervision and control are intrusted the various proceedings required for ihe alienation of the public lands, all reasonable presumptions are indulged in support of their action, ft cannot be attacked' collaterally, bui only by a direct proceeding instituíed by the government or by parties acting in its name and by its authority. If. however, those officers mistake the law applicable to the facts, or misconstrue the statutes, and issue a patent to one not entitled to it, the party wronged can resort to a court of equity to correct the mistake, and compel the transfer of tlie legal title to him as the true owner. The court, in such a case, merely directs that to be done which those officers would have done if no emu of law had been committed. The court: does not interfere with the title of a patentee when the alleged mistake relates to a matter of fact, concerning which those officers may have drawn wrong conclusions from the testimony. A judicial inquiry as to the correctness of such conclusions would encroach upon a, jurisdiction which congress has devolved exclusively upon the department. It i”
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.