Simonton v. . Lanier’s Empirical Analysis
1874
Citation profile
12 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently October 1987
12 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.
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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Public laws are founded on the gravest considerations of public benefit. They are deliberately enacted, are permanent in character, are for the equal benefit of all, and of universal application. Not so with private statutes. These are not of common concern, and do not receive the watchful and cautious scrutiny of the legislature, which is devoted to those of a public character. They are often procured by agents, and for a purpose, who are watchful to take advantage of any relaxation in legislative vigilance.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“contrary to the genius of a free State and ought not to be allowed.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. State v. . Harris
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.