Shorty v. Scott’s Empirical Analysis
1975
Citation profile
48 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 48 later decisions — most recently February 2014 · most notably Doe Ex Rel. Doe v. Heim (1976), Vest v. State Ex Rel. New Mexico Human Services Department (1993)
48 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 Wallin v. Wallin · Fox v. Doak · Tuttle v. Tuttle · Bassett v. Bassett · Pra v. Gherardini
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 48 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In such instances, the “parental right” doctrine is to be given prominent, though not controlling, consideration. It has long been the rule that “Parents have a natural and legal right to custody of their children. This right is prima facie and not an absolute right.” ... This rule creates a presumption that the welfare and best interests of the minor child will best be served in the custody of the natural parents and casts the burden of proving the contrary on the non-parent, (citations omitted).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“The rule also requires that the trial court make express findings, if the natural parent is to be denied custody, not only that the parent is unfit, but that the third person seeking to obtain or retain custody is fit and the welfare and best interests of the child would best be served by giving custody to that third person.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.