Ex parte Sternaman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 federal appellate · 1 district ·

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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The complaint is made upon information and belief and in this respect I think it is fatally defective. The statute requires a complaint upon oath, and I think it is not satisfied by a simple allegation that the complainant is informed and believes the petitioner to have committed the offense, or, in the language of this complaint, that upon the ‘best knowledge, information and belief’ of complainant defendant is guilty. A person may swear that he has reason to believe, and does believe, that a person has committed a crime, although his reasons may amount to little more than mere suspicion without laying himself open to a charge of perjury. This, however, is not a complaint upon oath within the meaning of the statute. The personal liberty of a citizen ought not to be interfered with upon an allegation so loosely framed. It is very singular that there are so few cases in which the requirements of a proper complaint upon oath are discussed, but I think, as a general rule, a mere allegation that the complainant has reason to believe, and does believe, is insufficient. * ~ •* I would not undertake to say, however, that a eoin-l>laint for extradition may not be made upon information and belief, for such a ruling might put it out of the power of a foreign government to obtain the surrender of a criminal in a large number of cases without incurring a very great and unnecessary expense in so doing. For instance, in the case of Farez, 7 Blatchf. 345 . Fed. Cas. No. 4,645, the compl”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ex parte Yordi