Meister v. Moore’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 federal appellate · 8 district · 96 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 148 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It certainly withdrew from the consideration of the jury all evidence, if any there was, of informal marriage by contract per verba de praesenti. That such a contract constitutes a marriage at common law there can be no doubt,in view of the adjudications made in this country, from its earliest settlement to the present day. Marriage is everywhere regarded as a civil contract. Statutes in many of the states, it is true, regulate the mode of entering into the'contract; but they do-not confer the right. Hence they are not within the principle that, where a statute creates a right and provides a remedy for its enforcement, the remedy is exclusive. No doubt, a- statute may take away a common-law right; hut there is always a presumption! that the Legislature has no such, intention, unless it be plainly expressed. A statute may declare that no‘marriages shall be valid, unless they are solemnized in a prescribed manner; but such ah enactment is a very different thing from a law requiring all marriages to be entered into in the presence of a magistrate or a clergyman, or that it be preceded by. a license, or publication of bans, or’ be attested by -witnesses. Such, formal provisions may be. construed as merely directory, instead of being treated' as. destructive of- a common-law right to form the -marriage relation by words oí present assent. And such, we think, has been'the. rule generally adopted in construing statutes1 regulating - marriage. ■ ; Whatever directions they may give r”

   8 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Sprung v. Morton · Reed v. Harkrader

2. “`Though in most if not all the United States there are statutes regulating the celebration of marriage rites, and inflicting penalties on all who disobey the regulations, yet it is generally considered that, in the absence of any positive statute declaring that all marriages not celebrated in the prescribed manner shall be void, * * * any marriage, regularly made according to the common law, without observing the statute regulations, would still be a valid marriage.'”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In Re Stopp's Estate · Crouse v. Stopps

3. ““ ‘Whatever the form of ceremony, or even if all ceremony was dispensed with, if the parties agreed presently to take each other for husband and wife, .and from that time live together professedly in that relation, proof of these facts would be sufficient to constitute proof of a marriage binding upon the parties, and which would subject them and others to legal penalties for a disregard of its obligations.’ ” (p. 82.)”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Sprung v. Morton · Butler v. Butler