Blodgett v. Yocum’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““This instruction was erroneous. It practically told the jury that if they regarded the disposition which the deceased made of her property as unreasonable they might infer that at the time she executed the deeds she was of unsound mind or unduly influenced, or both. . . . A person of sound mind who is not unduly influenced may make disposition of his property by deed or will as he desires, without regard to its fairness or unfairness. . . . The instruction, however, authorized the jury to consider whether they would have made the same disposition of their property under the same circumstances; and, if they concluded that the disposition she made was unfair or unreasonable, it authorized them to infer from that fact alone that she was unduly influenced when she executed the deeds. ’This is not the law.” (p. 646.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Coblentz v. Putifer

2. “"This instruction was erroneous. It practically told the jury that if they regarded the disposition which the deceased made of her property as unreasonable they might infer that at the time she executed the deeds she was of unsound mind or unduly influenced, or both. . . . A person of sound mind who is not unduly influenced may make such disposition of his property by deed or will as he desires, without regard to its fairness or unfairness. He may give to one child the bulk of his property and cut the other off with a shilling.” (pp. 646, 647.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. DeCrow v. Harkness