Brown v. Brown’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We are presented in this case with the ancient presumption that a child born in wedlock is presumed to be legitimate, which defendant is asserting for his own purposes rather than those of the child. At common law the presumption was conclusive and therefore a rule of substantive law. Today the presumption is re-buttable, an evidentiary presumption, and is overcome by a showing of substantial evidence (“ ‘clear, cogent and convincing proof’ ”) to the contrary. In re L_, supra, l.c. 532-533. Upon presentation by the party against whom the presumption of substantial evidence to rebut the presumption, the existence or nonexistence of the fact once presumed is to be determined from the evidence as if no presumption had ever been operative in the case.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Aversman v. Danner