Hancock v. Davidson County’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

36 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 37 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Section 2. Be it further enacted, That should this Act apply to Roane County, the said Court shall be officially designated as the ‘General Sessions Court of Roane County’, and the said Court is hereby vested with all of the jurisdiction and shall exercise the authority conferred by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee upon the Justices of the Peace in civil and criminal cases and actions, and the Justices of the Peace in all Counties to which this Act applies ■ are hereby divested of all such jurisdiction, power, and authority. The authority of said Justices of the Peace in their capacity as members of the Quarterly County Court, or in the performance of the rites of matrimony is in no wise affected hy this Act; and the said Justices of the Peace shall retain the power and authority to issue warrants, both civil and criminal, and to subpoena witnesses, but said warrants shall be returnable for trial before the Judge of the General Sessions Court. But this Act shall in no wise affect the rights, powers and duties of any City Judge or Recorder in said County, except insofar as the City Judge or Recorder may exercise the said functions of an ordinary Justice of the Peace.””

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

2. ““In answer to this objection, it is sufficient to say that so far as his bill discloses the appellant here is in nowise affected by these provisions of the act of 1937. He is not a litigant in any case before the court of general sessions. He sues as a taxpayer of Davidson County to avoid the additional burden of taxation that he avers will be imposed upon him by the maintenance by said county of this court. These provisions as to civil suits will impose no burden upon the county and will impose no burden upon any taxpayer of the county. “To justify an assault upon the validity of a statute under these sections of the Constitution, the assailant must show that he is adversely affected by the alleged discrimination.” 171 Tenn. at 433-434 , 104 S.W.2d at 829 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Norman v. Tennessee State Board of Claims

3. ““So while decisions of this court are to the effect that a justice of the peace, in the exercise of strictly judicial functions, is a state officer, it is plain from our statutes, as well as from adopted English statutes, that, in the exercise of other functions, the justice of the peace is strictly a county officer. In the exercise of still other functions, he is primarily a county officer, and the same must be said of these newly created functionaries who succeed to the jurisdiction and authority of justices of the peace in criminal cases, suits, and actions.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Lawler v. McCanless