Taylor v. McClintock’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

168 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 172 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The test relates, not to the moral quality of the act done, but to the mental capacity of the testator to do what he did. The question is not whether the testator did actually appreciate the deserts of and relation to him of the one excluded, but whether he had, at the time, the capacity to do so. ‘It is not required that he shall in fact correctly ascertain the legal status of each person who apparently stands in natural relation to him. In the exercise of reason, he may move upon false or insufficient evidence, or by mistake of law, and thus exclude from his bounty those whom, but for this error, he would have recognized. Stupid error, either in his reasoning- or conclusion, is not lack of testamentary capacity.’ Smith v. Smith, 48 N. J. Eq. 566; 1 Sharton & Stille, Med. Jur., § 767, p. 73. “ There is a clear distinction between having the capacity to comprehend deserts and actually comprehending them — the former the law requires, the latter it does not.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Emerich v. Arendt

2. “... A belief grounded on evidence, however slight, necessarily involves the exercise of the mental faculties of perception and reason; and where this is the case, no matter how imperfect the reasoning process may be, or how erroneous the conclusion reached, it is not an insane delusion. ... ... Mistake, whether of fact or law, moves from some external influence which is weighed by reason. Delusion arises from morbid internal impulse, and has no basis in reason.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Pennington v. Pennington