Pacific Insurance Company v. Soule’s Empirical Analysis
74 U.S. 433 · 1868
Citation profile
17 federal appellate · 15 district · 7 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 85 later decisions (28 by the Supreme Court) — most recently June 2024 · most notably Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. (1911), Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad (1916)
17 federal appellate · 15 district · 7 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 85 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““ The sixth question is: ■ Whether the taxes paid by the plaintiff, and sought to be recovered back in this action,, are not direct taxes, within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States.’ In considering this subject it is proper to advert to the several provisions of the Constitution relating to taxation by Congress. ‘ Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which shall be in- eluded in this Union according to their respective numbers,’ etc. ‘ Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.’ ‘No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.’ ‘No tax or duty shall be laid-on-articles exported from any State.’ “ These clauses contain the entire grant of the taxing power by the organic law, with the limitations which that instrument imposes. “ The national government, though supreme within its own sphere, is one of limited jurisdiction and specific functions. It has no faculties but such as the Constitution has given it, either expressly or incidentally by necessary intendment. Whenever any act done under its authority is challenged, the proper sanction must be found in its charter, or the act is ultra vires and void. This test must be ”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Thus limited, and thus only, it reaches every subject, and may be exercised at discretion.” License Tax Cases, 5 Wall. 462 , 18 L. Ed. 497 . “Congress may prescribe the basis, fix the rates, and require payment as it may deem proper. Within the limits of the Constitution it is supreme in its action. No power of supervision or control is lodged in either of the other departments of the government.” Pacific Mutual Ins. Co. v. Soule, 7 Wall. 433 , 19 L. Ed. 95 .”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Kelly v. Lewellyn“Whether the taxes paid by the plaintiff, and sought to be recovered back, in this action, are not direct taxes within- the meaning of the Constitution of the United States.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.