Quillian v. Mathews’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““[T]he question of contributory negligence of a child is always a fact question for the jury upon proper instructions concerning the child’s special standard of care, unless, of course, reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion from the evidence. The California (Courtell v. McEachen, 51 Cal.2d 448 , 334 P.2d 870 (1959)) and Utah (Mann v. Fairbourn, 12 Utah 2d 342 , 366 P.2d 603 (1961)) cases are illustrative. Professor Prosser states: ‘The great majority of the courts have rejected any such fixed and arbitrary rules of delimitation, and have held that children well under the age of seven can be capable of some negligent conduct. Undoubtedly there is an irreducible minimum, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of four years of age, but it ought not be fixed by rules laid down in advance without regard to the particular case. As the age decreases, there are simply fewer possibilities of negligence, until finally, at some indeterminate point, there are none at all.’ Prosser on Torts, pp. 158-159 (3d ed. 1964). Accord: Rest, of Torts, Second, Sec. 283a. In our opinion it is not advisable to establish a fixed and arbitrary rule. We prefer to treat the issue of contributory negligence of a child as a fact issue for the jury upon proper instructions unless reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion from the evidence. This allows for a degree of flexibility in the handling of each case as it comes before the trial court. That court may decide initially whether reason”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Clark v. Circus-Circus, Inc. · Honeycutt Ex Rel. Phillips v. City of Wichita

2. “Most courts have attempted to fix a minimum age, below which the child is held to be incapable of all negligence.... Other courts have rejected any such fixed and arbitrary rules of delimitation, and have held that children well under the age of seven can be capable of some negligent conduct. Undoubtedly there is an irreducible minimum, probably in the neighborhood of four years of age, but it arguably ought not to be fixed by rules laid down in advance without regard to the particular case. As the age decreases, there are simply fewer possibilities of negligence, until finally, at some indeterminate point, there is none at all. Prosser and Keeton at 180.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lester v. Sayles