Hastings v. Ames’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 federal appellate ·

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

1. ““By the fifth section of the act of March 3, 1891, c. 517 ( 26 Stat. 826 ), creating the circuit courts of appeals, jurisdiction is conferred on this court to review by direct appeal any final judgment rendered by the circuit court ‘in any case in which the constitution or law of a state is claimed to be in contravention of the constitution of the United States.’ There can be no doubt that the case at bar comes within this provision. The complainants in tlu'ii* I>m in express terms predicated tlieir right to the relief sought upon llu> averment that certain ordinances adopted by the municipal authorities of the city of Austin, and an act of the legislature of the state of Texas referred to in the bill, impaired the obligations of the contract which the bill alleged had been entered into with the complainants by the city of Austin, and that both the law of the state of Texas and the city ordinances were in contravention of the constitution of the United States. No language could more plainly bring a case within the letter of a statute than do these allegations of the bill bring this case within the law of 1891.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Capital City Gas Co. v. City of Des Moines · City of Dawson v. Columbia Ave. Saving-Fund, Safe-Deposit, Title & Trust Co.