Silver v. Ladd’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 federal appellate · 9 district · 30 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 87 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The contest arises out of rival claims to the right of preemption of the land in controversy. The register and receiver, after hearing these claims, decided in favor of Towsley, the complainant, and allowed him to enter the land, received his'money; and gave him a patent certificate. On appeal to the commissioner of the land office their action was affirmed, but on further appeal to the Secretary of the Interior the action of these officers was reversed on the construction of an act of Congress, in which the Secretary differed from them, and on that decision the patent was issued to Johnson. * * * On the other hand, there has always existed in courts of equity the power in certain classes of cases to inquire into and correct mistakes, injustice, and wrong in both judicial and executive action, however solemn the form which the result of that action may assume, when it invades private rights; and by virtue of this power the final judgments of courts of law have been annulled or modified, and patents and other important instruments issuing from the crown, or other executive branch of the government, have been corrected or declared void, or other relief granted. No reason is perceived why the action of the land office should! constitute an exception to this principle. In dealing with the public domain under the system of laws enacted by Congress for their management and sale, that tribunal decides upon private rights of great value, and very often, from the nature of its functi”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Leak v. Joslin

2. ““We admit the philological criticism that the words ‘single man’ and ‘married man,’ referring to the conjugal relation of the sexes, do not ordinarily include females. And no doubt it is on this critical use of the words that the decision of the Oregon court is mainly founded. But, conceding to it all the force it may justly claim, we are of the opinion that it does not give the true meaning of the Act, according to the intent of its framers, for the following reasons: ’ ’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Tennessee Title Co. v. First Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n

3. ““Anything, therefore, which savors of narrowness or illiberality in defining the class, among those residing in the territory in those early days, and partaking of the hardships which the act was intended to reward, who shall be entitled to its benefits, is at variance with the manifest purpose of congress.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Proebstel v. Hogue