Stearns v. Stearns’s Empirical Analysis
1964
Citation profile
21 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 21 later decisions — most recently October 1984
21 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.
Relationships
Relies on Kressly v. Kressly · Wiesner v. Wiesner · Howells v. Howells · Simpson v. Simpson · Hines v. Hines
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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““When children of tender years are involved our law favors the mother, SDC 14.0505 (now SDCL 30-27-19 (2) ) and her statutory preferential right cannot be denied or defeated in the absence of some compelling reason such as an indication that her custody of the children would be detrimental to their best interest and welfare. Hines v. Hines, 78 S.D. 464 , 104 N.W.2d 375 ; Howells v. Howells, 79 S.D. 480 , 113 N.W.2d 533 ; Wiesner v. Wiesner, 80 S.D. 114 , 119 N.W.2d 920 ; and Septka v. Septka, 80 S.D. 299 , 122 N.W.2d 766 . A careful review of the record does not reflect any compelling reason why plaintiff’s preferential right to custody should be denied. There is no evidence of neglect, abuse, or lack of maternal care or concern. * * *” 80 S.D. 446 , 126 N.W.2d 126 .”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“Where a divorce is granted for an offense of either husband or wife, the courts shall in such action have full power to make an equitable division of the property belonging to either or both, whether the title to such property is in the name of the husband or the wife. In making such division of the property the court shall have regard for equity and the circumstances of the parties.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Hanson v. Hanson
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.