Armstrong v. Morrill’s Empirical Analysis
81 U.S. 120 · 1871
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 4 district · 22 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 50 later decisions (13 by the Supreme Court) — most recently September 1998 · most notably King v. Mullins (1898), Farnsworth v. Duffner (1891)
2 federal appellate · 4 district · 22 state decisions — followed in 11 states
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 Willard v. Presbury
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 50 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he rule that time does not run against the State has been settled for centuries, and is supported by all courts in all civilized countries. Suppose that ... still it is insisted that ... the period of adverse possession before ... forfeiture and the period subsequent to ... conveyance by the State to the plaintiff ... may be added together and considered as one entire period, for the purpose of [adverse possession]. But the proposition cannot be admitted, as it is well settled law that the possession, in order that it may bar the recovery [by the true owner], must be continuous and uninterrupted as well as open, notorious, actual, exclusive and adverse. [ Ibid. (quoting Armstrong v. Morrill, 81 U.S. (14 Wall.) 120 , 20 L. Ed. 765, 772 (1872)).]”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““ And be it further enacted, That all right, title and interest, which shall be vested in the commonwealth in any lands or lots lying west .of the Allegheny Mountains, by reason of the non-payment of the taxes heretofore due thereon, or which may become due on or before the 'first day of January next, or of the failure of the owner or owners thereof to cause the •same to be entered on the books of the commissioner of the proper counties, and have the same charged with taxes according to law, by virtue of the provisions of the several acts of assembly heretofore enacted, in reference to delinquent and omitted lands, shall be and the same are hereby absolutely transferred tó and vested in any person or persons, (other than those for whose default the same may have been forfeited, their heirs or devisees,) for so much as such person or persons may have just title or claim to, legal or equitable, claimed, held or derived from or under any grant of the commonwealth, bearing date previous to the 1st day of January, 1843, who shall have discharged all taxes, duly assessed and charged against him or them upon such lands, and all .taxes that ought to have been assessed or charged thereon, frorn the time he, she or they acquired title thereto, whether legal or equitable: Provided, That nothing in this section contained, shall be construed to impair the right or title of any person or persons, who shall bona fide claim said land by title, legal or equitable, derived from the commonwealt”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Halsted v. Buster““It shall be the duty of any person owning any real estate to cause the same to be entered on the land books of the proper assessor, and charged with the state taxes thereon not charged to the owner for the year 1832, or any year thereafter, heretofore, or hereafter, not released, paid, or in any manner discharged, which were and shall remain properly chargeable thereon. When any person owning real estate has not, or shall not have, for five successive years, been charged on such books with such taxes on such real estate, the same, and all the title, right and interest of the. owner, legal and equitable, thereto, shall, without any proceeding, be absolutely forfeited to and vested in this state; provided, however, that such owner may, within one year after the passage of this act, cause such real estate to be charged with such taxes, chargeable for any such years heretofore, and thereby prevent a forfeiture for such years.” “All the estate, title, right and interest which has vested or shall vest in this state, or become irredeemable under the provisions of this chapter, shall be transferred to and vested in any person (other than those for whose default the same may have been returned delinquent or forfeited, their heirs or devisees), for so much thereof as such person may have title or claim to,” etc. “All the real estate forfeited as aforesaid, and not so transferred and. vested, shall be sold for the benefit of the school fund.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Fay v. Crozer
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.