Adams v. Woods’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

44 federal appellate · 17 district · 12 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 134 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In a country where not even treason can be prosecuted, after a lapse of three years, it could scarcely be supposed, that an individual would remain for ever liable to a pecuniary forfeiture.”

   15 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Occidental Life Insurance Company of California v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · County of Oneida New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State New York

2. ““It is contended that the prosecutions limited by this law, are those only which are carried on In the form of an indictment or information, and not those where the penalty is demanded by an action of debt. But If the words-of the act be examined, they will be found to. apply, not to any particular mode of proceeding, but, generally, to any prosecution, trial or punishment tor the offense. It is not declared that no indictment shall be found nor information filed for any offense not capital, nor for any fine or forfeiture under any penal statute, unless the same be instituted within the two years after the commission of the offense. In that case the act would be pleadable only in bar of the particular action. But it is declared, that ‘no person shall be prosecuted, tried,' or punished;’ words which show an intention, not merely to limit any particular form of action, but to limit any prosecution whatever. “It Is true that general expressions may be restrained by subsequent particular words which show that in the intention of the Legislature, those general expressions are used in a particular sense, and the argument is a strong one which contends that the latter words describing the remedy imply a restriction on those which precede them. Most frequently they would do so. But in the statute under consideration, a distinct member of the sentence describing one entire class of offenses, would be rendered almost totally useless by the construction insisted on by the attorney for t”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Carter v. New Orleans & N. E. R. · Connecticut Action Now, Inc. v. Roberts Plating Co.

3. “founded upon the 31st section of the act of congress of April 30th, 1790 (1 U.S. Stat. 119), which is in these words: "That no person or persons shall be prosecuted, tried or punished for treason, or other capital offence aforesaid, wilful murder or forgery excepted; unless the indictment for the same shall be found by a grand jury within three years next after the treason or capital offence aforesaid shall be done or committed; nor shall any person be prosecuted, tried or punished for any offence not capital, nor for any fine or forfeiture under any penal statute, unless the indictment or information for the same shall be found or instituted within two years from the time of committing the offence, or incurring the fine or forfeiture aforesaid: provided, that nothing, herein contained, shall extend to any person or persons fleeing from justice.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Miles v. Ashland Chemical Co.