filius nullius
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 39 U.S. 178 - The Lessee of Henry Brewer v. Jacob Blougher · 1840Most cited · 74 citing opinions
illegitimate child at common law
According to the principles of the common law, an illegitimate child is filius nullius, and can have no father known to the law. And when the legislature speak, in general terms, of children of that description, without making any exceptions, we are bound to suppose they design to include the whole class.
How often courts cite the cases defining “filius nullius”
Court decisions citing the 2 opinions that defined “filius nullius” — 140 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 · 1840–1861
In the eye of that law, he was filius nullius. He had neither father, mother, nor sister. He could neither take from, nor transmit to, those standing in such relations to him, any estate by inheritance.