128 Wash. 2d 151 - State v. Lee’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 40 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 42 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The victim here, if any, was Hanson, the owner of the 7th Street residence. His listing agent testified that he told Lee's real estate agent that "if Mr. Lee was going to occupy the property prior to closing, we needed a written agreement; and the date of move-in. And rent should be charged from that date of move-in until the date of closing." He added that such rent would be paid to Hanson, owner of the property. Clearly, no such agreement was ever written, and no rent was ever paid. But the State never referred to Hanson as a victim of Lee's theft, or to the 7th Street property as constituting the subject of the theft. This may have been due to the fact that the residence was virtually uninhabitable before Lee's family repaired it: The value of property is measured by its market value at the time of the theft. RCW 9A.56.010(12); 2 LAFAVE & SCOTT § 8.4 at 352. To constitute second degree theft, the taking must be of property or services valued at more than $250. RCW 9.56.040. Here, the State presented no evidence of the property's rental value when Lee received the $700 check in late June. According to the Lees, however, the residence was without rental value until repairs were completed for well over $700 in early July. Thus, even if Hanson were the victim, the evidence is insufficient to establish that he suffered a second degree theft. While Lee's actions may constitute theft, the State did not present sufficient evidence to establish that those actions deprived any of th”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Greathouse · 113 Wash. App. 889 - State v. Greathouse

2. “[I]n cases of theft and larceny proof of ownership of the stolen property in the specific person alleged is not essential. The State is required to prove only that it belonged to someone other than the accused. . . . . The name of the victim, however, is not superfluous in a theft case.... Though not a necessary element of a theft instruction, allegations of ownership must be sufficiently stated in an information to establish that the property was not that of the accused, to protect the accused against a second prosecution for the same crime, and to avoid misleading or embarrassing the accused in the preparation of his or her defense. The names of the owners of stolen property constitute no part of the offense and are stated in the information primarily as a matter of description for the purpose of identification and to show ownership in a person or persons other than the accused.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Greathouse · State v. Hickman

3. “[i]n some jurisdictions, an information that fails to allege ownership in the person from whom it is charged the property was taken may be amended, and the accused may be brought to trial on the amended information. In other jurisdictions, an information may omit any allegation of ownership, provided the accused may request a bill of particulars.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Greathouse · 113 Wash. App. 889 - State v. Greathouse