Railroad Company v. Husen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

27 federal appellate · 49 district · 152 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 503 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““But, whatever may be the nature and reach of the police power of a state, it cannot be exercised over a subject confided exclusively to Congress by this federal. Constitution.’”

   18 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Kimmish v. Ball · Leisy v. Hardin

2. ““It is not doubted that, where Congress possesses constitutional power to regulate trade or intercourse, it may regulate by means of licenses as well as in other modes, and in case of such regulations a license will give to the licensee authority to do whatever is authorized by its terms. Thus: Congress having power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with Indian tribes, may without doubt provide for granting coasting licenses, licenses to pilots, licenses to trade with Indians, and any other license necessary or proper for U.e exercise of that great and extensive power, and the same observation is applicable to every other power of Congress to the exercise of which the granting of licenses may be incident. All such licenses confer authority and give rights to the licensee.””

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Pendleton · Lottery Case

3. “"It seems hardly necessary to argue at length that, unless the statute can be justified as a legitimate exercise of the police power of the state, it is a usurpation of the power vested exclusively in Congress. It is a plain regulation of interstate commerce—a regulation extending to prohibition. Whatever may be the power of a state over commerce that is completely internal, it can no more prohibit or regulate that which is interstate than it can that which is with foreign nations. Power over one is given by the Constitution of the United States to Congress in the same words in which it is given over the other, and in both cases it is necessarily, exclusive. That the transportation of property from one state to another is a branch of interstate commerce is undeniable, and no attempt has been made in this case to deny it.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Brown v. Houston · United States v. Slater