Wolferman v. Bell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Courts of original jurisdiction generally have the power, for some time after a judgment has been rendered, to set it aside or modify it as legal circumstances may require. The time within which this may be done depends either upon statute or upon the common practice of the courts. Where the latter is the only guide the end of the ‘term’ has been the universal limit. Of course, if a judgment be void on its face, it may be ignored or attacked in any wise at any time; or, if it has been procured by fraud, it may be set aside on motion within the limited period, or an independent suit to that end may be maintained afterward. But after the time fixed by law, or the well established practice, a judgment which is neither void on its face nor affected by fraud in its procurement or want of jurisdiction, stands for absolute verity; and neither the court which rendered, nor the appellate court which has affirmed it, has jurisdiction to vacate, modify or otherwise affect it. This is the universal rule, and there are no exceptions to it.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State ex rel. Burke v. Board of County Commissioners