Beard v. Federy’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

24 federal appellate · 11 district · 35 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 135 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““As against the government this record, so long as it remains unvacated, is conclusive. And it is equally conclusive against parties claiming under the government by title subsequent. * * * The term ‘third persons,’ as there used, does not embrace all persons other than the United States and the claimants, but only those who hold superior titles, such as will enable them to resist successfully any action of the government in disposing of the property.””

   7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. More v. Steinbach · United States v. Peralta

2. “The [California] [B]oard having acquired jurisdiction, the validity of the claim presented, and whether it was entitled to confirmation, were matters for it to determine, and its decision, however erroneous, cannot be collaterally assailed on the ground that it was rendered upon insufficient evidence. The rule which applies to the judgments of other inferior tribunals applies here, — that when it has once acquired jurisdiction its subsequent proceedings cannot be collaterally questioned for mere error or irregularity.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Montoya v. Tecolote Land Grant · Montoya v. Tecolote Land Grant ex rel. Tecolote Board of Trustees

3. ““The ultimate basis of the contention is that the court of private land claims had no jurisdiction to confirm the grant because the governor of the Californias had no power to convey the public land for a money consideration. That is to say, the grant being void it could not be the basis of a claim to lands ‘by virtue of any right or title derived from the Spanish or Mexican government.’ * * * “We think that counsel put too limited a signification on the words of section 8, that the claim shall be ‘by virtue of any right or title derived from the Spanish or Mexican government.’ The words, of course, were descriptive of the class of claims of which the board of land commissioners was given jurisdiction. They made a special tribunal of the board, limited to hear a particular class of claims, but not limited to the questions of law and fact which could arise in passing on and determining the validity of any claim of the class. The power to consider whatever was necessary to the validity of the claim — propositions of law or propositions of fact, the fact of a grant, or the power to grant — was conferred. If there should be a wrong decision the remedy was not by a collateral attack on the judgment rendered. The statute provided the remedy. * * * The jurisdiction of the board was necessarily commensurate with the purposes of its creation, and it was a jurisdiction to decide rightly or wrongly. If wrongly, a corrective was afforded, as we have said, by an appeal by the claimant or ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. O'Donnell v. United States