Pelt v. Payne’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is true that courts do not usually give statutes a retroactive effect, and it is the general rule that the soundness' of a decree must be tested by the law in force at the time of its rendition, but this is not so in all cases, for ‘when the language of the statute clearly indicates an intention that it shall have a retroactive effect it must be so applied.’ State v. Norwood, 12 Md. 206 . ‘It is, in general, true,’ said Chief Justice .Marshall in the case of U. S. v. The Peggy, ‘that the province of an appellate court is only to inquire whether a judgment when rendered was erroneous or not. But if, subsequent to the judgment, and before the decision of the appellate court, a law intervenes, and positively changes the rule which governs, the law must be obeyed or its obligation denied. If the law is constitutional, ... I know of no court which can contest its obligation.’ U. S. v. The Peggy, 1 Cranch, 109 . That case was decided in 1801, and the rule of law thus announced has been frequently followed.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Abraham