United States v. Russell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 federal appellate · 13 district · 4 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 119 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““* * * Extraordinary and unforeseen occasions arise, however, beyond all doubt, in cases of extreme necessity in time of war or of immediate and impending public danger, in which private property may be impressed into the public service, or may be seized and appropriated to the public use, or may even be destroyed without the consent of the owner. * * * Exigencies of the kind do arise in time of war or impending public danger, but it is the emergency, as was said by a great magistrate, that gives the right, and it is clear that the emergency must be shown to exist before the taking can be justified. Such a justification may be shown, and when shown the rule is well settled that the officer taking private property for such a purpose, if the emergency is fully proved, is not a trespasser, and that the government is bound to make full compensation to the owner.” United States v. Russell, .1871, 13 Wall. 623 , 627-628, 20 L.Ed. 474 .”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Sterling v. Constantin · Sawyer v. United States Steel Co.

2. “That in the case of each of these steamers, at the times when the same were respectively taken into the service of the United States, the officers acting for the United States, did not intend to ‘ appropriate ’ these steamers to the United States, nor even their services ; but they did intend .to compel the captains and crews with such steamers to perform the services needed, and to pay a reasonable compensation for such services, and such was the understanding of the claimant / and that each of said steamers, so soon as the services for which they were respectively required had been performed, .were returned to the exclusive possession and control of the claimant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Schillinger v. United States

3. ““taking of private property by the government, when the emergency of the public service in time of war or impending public danger is too urgent to admit of delay, is everywhere regarded as justified; * * * and it is equally clear that the taking of such property under such circumstances creates an obligation on the part of the government to reimburse the owner to the full value of the service.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Rockaway Pacific Corp. v. Stotesbury