Mussina v. Cavazos’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

40 federal appellate · 7 district · 9 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 96 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The Act of 1789, c. 20, § 22, provides that writs of error shall not be brought but within five years after rendering or passing the ju4gment or decree complained of. The writ of error is not brought, in the legal meaning of the term, until it is filed in the court which rendered the judgment. It is the filing of the writ that removes the record from the inferior to the appellate court, and the period of limitation prescribed by the act of Congress must be calculated accordingly. The day on which the writ may have been issued by the clerk, or the day on which it is tested, are not material in deciding the question.””

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Polleys v. Black River Improvement Co. · Credit Co. v. Arkansas Central Railway Co.

2. ““It fully appears that during the life of the writ a good and sufficient return to it was made by sending to this court an authenticated transcript of the record. Shall we now hold, because with this return there did not come the writ itself, that what has been done under it is void, and we are without jurisdiction? This would he contrary to the uniform practice of other courts in regard to their writs, for it is believed to be well settled that rights acquired under a valid writ of process, while it was in force, cannot he defeated by the loss or destruction of the writ, if its existence, and the acts done under it, can be substantiated by other testimony. It is as reasonable to hold that a judge of this court would lose his right to sit In this place if his commission was burned up as to hold that the court loses the right to hear a case because the writ' was burned before it reached the court, hut after it had effected its purpose, by bringing here the transcript.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Cotter v. Alabama G. S. R.

3. ““Whatever might he our opinion of the exceptions which appear in the record. if they were presented in such a way that we could consider them, we find them beyond our reach. The hill of exceptions, or what purports to be a bill of exceptions, covering more than 350 pages of the printed record, is neither signed nor sealed by the judge who tried the ease; and there Is nothing which shows that it was submitted to him or in any way received his sanction. We are therefore constrained to affirm the judgment, and it is affirmed accordingly.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Fellman v. Royal Ins. Co.