Faulkner v. Thrapp’s Empirical Analysis
1981
Citation profile
3 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently May 2011
3 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Brown v. Mitchell · Ragsdale v. Ragsdale · Lindley v. Lindley · Hutto v. Cook · Carr v. Radkey
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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“It is well settled that a witness, regardless of his training, is not permitted to give an opinion which constitutes a legal conclusion. Brown v. Mitchell, 88 Tex. 350 , 31 S.W. 621 , 36 L.R.A. (sic) 64 (1895); 2 R. Ray, Texas Evidence § 1423, p. 71 (3d ed. 1980), and cases cites; 7 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 1952, p. 81 (3d ed. 1940); 23 Tex.Jur.2d Evidence § 413, p. 619, and cases there cited. The basis for that rule is not that the witness lacks the training or competence in the law necessary to understand and apply the legal definition or test. The reason for the rule is that the legal effect of a given set of facts is not a matter for the opinions of witnesses, but is a matter of law which is to be decided and applied solely by the tribunal trying the case. 2 R. Ray, Texas Evidence § 1423, pp. 71-72 (3d ed. 1980), and cases there cited; 7 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 1952, p. 82 (3d ed. 1940). In the case of a mixed question of law and fact, such as testamentary capacity, to permit a witness to state his conclusion would allow that witness to interpret and apply for the jury the legal test involved in the question, which is properly the exclusive prerogative of the judge.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrencee.g. Hall v. Birchfield
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.