State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Ordinarily, a jury might well draw such an inference from such facts ; but the court below says that, in effect, they are compelled to draw such an inference, and this, in our opinion, is an unauthorized assumption by the court of a duty that belonged exclusively to the jury. From the proven facts, the jury, not the court, must find that the accused converted the money to his own use. In this case they might well have found him guilty from the facts proven, if they had been left at liberty to weigh the value of these facts, as well as any others necessary to prove the guilt of the accused."”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Wilson · State v. Truskett

2. ““To hold that the warrant of a justice should describe the offense as accurately as the information would in most cases be to defeat justice. They are generally unlearned in the technicalities of the law, and describe the offense in general terms, while the information is expected to be more exact in its terms, and more full and accurate in its statements.” See also The State v. Baker, 57 Kan. 511 , 46 Pac. 947 .”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. In re Stewart · State v. Tucker

3. ““The public at large can exercise no constant supervision over his [county treasurer’s] acts, nor can it, like a private individual, assume the direct custody of the funds at any moment. The proper authorities may require him to account, may examine the funds in his possession, but in the next hour all these funds may be changed, long before the act of embezzlement is done, or the intent is formed. To suppose that the legislature, when they added the' large class of public officers to those who might be amenable to the law for the offense of embezzlement, intended to require proof of the identity of the money embezzled, or a description of it, and from whom it was received, is to infer that they intended to enact a law the enforcement of which would be' impossible. It will not do to permit an artificial rule of pleading, having a doubtful foundation in reason, to lead to such a disastrous result.” (p. 295.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Gordon