Lacey v. Floyd’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 45 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 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The rule in Shelley’s Case is in force in Texas and has become a rule of property. Upon the faith of that law, many, like plaintiffs in error, .have purchased lands, believing they were securing good titles. It may be true that the rule in Shelley’s Case will defeat the intention of the testator; he should have known the law, and could have expressed his intention differently so as to give it effect; but the purchaser had the right to deal with the property upon the presumption that the intention of the testator conformed to the law. The courts have no power to change the law in order to enforce the intention of the testator in disregard of the rights of those claiming under the will.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Crist v. Morgan

2. ““Unless qualified and limited by some other provision or language of the instrument, the words quoted above vested in Amos B. Steele a fee-simple title to the land by operation of the rule in Shelley’s Case.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Crist v. Morgan

3. ““We believe that it would be for the public good if the Legislature would repeal the rule in Shelley’s Case, and we respectfully recommend that it be done.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Crist v. Morgan