cause
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 243 U.S. 440 - United States v. Solomon Kenofskey · 1917Most cited · 353 citing opinions
in mail fraud statute
Cause' is a word of very broad import and its meaning is generally known. It is used in the section in its well-known sense of bringing about, and in such sense it is applicable to the conduct of Kenofskey. He deliberately calculated the effect of giving the false proofs to his superior officer; and the effect followed, demonstrating the efficacy of his selection of means. ... He became Kenofskey's agent for that purpose and the means by which he offended against the provisions of the statute.
How often courts cite the cases defining “cause”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “cause” — 353 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 2 definitions, chronological · 1917–2026
- 2026·Trump v. Cook (U.S. 2026, slip opinion)
any concern the President may have about a person's "conduct, ability, fitness, or competence." Application 25–26 (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 508 (2d ed. 1910)); see also post, at 12 TRUMP v. COOK Opinion of the Court 14–15 (THOMAS, J., dissenting).