Frisbie v. Whitney’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

48 federal appellate · 9 district · 63 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 238 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““So far as anything done by him is to be considered, his claim rests solely upon his going upon the land and building and residing on it. There is nothing in the essential nature of these acts to confer a vested right, or, indeed, any kind of claim to land, and it is necessary to resort to the pre-emption law to make out any shadow of such right.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Buxton v. Traver · Shiver v. United States

2. “‘ Biit, resolving’ this difficulty in favor of complainant for the present, we are still of opinion that he had not acquired a vested right in the land when Congress acted upon the subject. What had he done? He had gone upon the land, built a house and barn, and perhaps inclosed some * * * ground. He had álso applied to the register of the land office, and offered to make a declaration that he had done these things with the intention of making a permanent settlement, and claiming the land under the right of pre-emption. This is all. He had paid no money, nor had he then tendered any. The land officers refused to receive his declaration, and denied his right to pre-empt the land. He never has paid any money, has never received any certificate of pre-emption, and the register and receiver have never, in any manner, acknowledged or admitted his right to make pre-emption of that land. So far as anything done by him is to be considered, his claim rests solely upon his going upon the land and building and residing on 'it. There is nothing in the essential nature of these acts to confer a vested right, or indeed any kind of claim to land, and it is necessary to resort to the pre-emption law to make out any shadow of such right. “The act of Congress on this subject, to which all the subsequent acts refer, and which prescribes the terms, and the manner of securing title in such cases, is the act of September 4, 1841 (5 Stat. at Large, 453). That was an act full of1 generosity, for it ”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Oregon & C. R. · Douglass v. Rhodes

3. “A mere entry upon land, with continued occupancy and improvement thereof, gives no vested interest in it. It may, however, give ... a privilege of pre-emption. But this is only a privilege conferred on the settler to purchase land in preference to others.... His settlement protects him from intrusion or purchase by others, but confers no right against the government.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Shiver v. United States · Cavin v. United States