Nichols v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
74 U.S. 122 · 1868
Citation profile
46 federal appellate · 30 district · 9 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 201 later decisions (47 by the Supreme Court) — most recently January 2016 · most notably John Aldens v. Maine (1999), Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad (1916)
46 federal appellate · 30 district · 9 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.
Relationships
Relies on Curtis's Administratrix v. Fiedler
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 201 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““An equal provision bas been made to correct errors in the administration of the internal revenue laws. The party aggrieved can test the question of the illegality of an assessment, or collection of taxes, by suit; but he cannot do this until he has taken an appeal to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. If the Commissioner delays his decision beyond the period of six months from the time the appeal is taken, then suit may be brought at any time within twelve months from the date of the appeal. Thus it will be seen that the person who believes he has suffered wrong at the hands of the assessor or collector, can appeal to the courts; but he cannot do this until he has taken an intermediate appeal to the commissioner.””
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““The immunity of the United States from suit is one of the main elements to be considered in determining the merits' of this controversy. Every government has an inherent right to protect itself against suits, and if, in the liberality of legislation, they are permitted, it is only on such terms and conditions as are prescribed by statute. The principle is fundamental, applies to every sovereign power, and but for the protection which it affords, the government would be unable to perform the various duties for which it was created. It would be impossible for it to collect revenue for its support, without infinite embarrassments and delays, if it was subject to civil processes the same as a private person. “It is not important for the purposes . of this suit, to notice any of the Acts of Congress on the subject of payment of the duties on imports, anterior to the Act of Feb. 26, 1845, 5 Stat. at L. 727„ This Act altered the rule previously in force, and required the party of whom duties were claimed, and who denied the right to claim them, to protest 'in writing with a specific statement of the grounds of objection. “Through this law Congress said to the importing merchant, you must pay the duties assessed against you; but as you say they are illegally assessed, if you file a written protest stating wherein the illegality consists, you can test' the question of your liability to pay, in a suit against the collector, to be tried in due course of law and, if the courts decide in”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“all claims founded upon any law of Congress, or upon any regulation of an executive department, or upon any contract, express or implied, with the government of the United States.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.