Ex Parte McCain’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A court which has both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over a given case or controversy, but which performs an action outside of any legal or judicial authority, acts beyond the scope of the law and that ultra vires act cannot be recognized as a valid judicial act. The law will not validate its existence or performance. It is, in hoary terms, a “void” act.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Davis v. State

2. “To say that a statute is `mandatory' is simply to say that the law prescribes the manner in which a particular action should or shall be taken.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Trinidad v. State

3. “voidable” conviction because those terms have caused so much confusion in Texas criminal law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hardy v. State