State v. Williamson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In the present case, the UPS store manager knew who Defendant was. He had mailed packages from the store before, but this was the first time he appeared nervous and stated that he did not know what was in the package. Several circumstances create more than a reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct. These include Defendant's nervousness, his inability or unwillingness to state what was in the package, his later recollection that a book was inside when the store manager said that the package would have to be opened, his statement that he was sending the package to his son when the addressee's last name was different from Defendant's last name, the store manager's obvious suspicions, the packaging indicating that Defendant was likely lying to the store manager, the store manager's fairly obvious training and her behavior in regard to suspicious use of common carrier delivery for drug activity, and the officer's generally expressed training and experience. Furthermore, the officer stated that the UPS store manager observed two containers inside a vacuum sealed bag, each wrapped with duct tape; that the officer himself observed the bag and also a Crystal Light cylinder wrapped with gray duct tape and a square Ferrero candy box also wrapped on the ends with gray duct tape; and that the officer knew from training and experience that "often times narcotics are packaged in unusual containers, wrapped with duct tape, and vacuum sealed, to make the narcotics less detectable by narcotic”

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

2. “[i]f narcotics detection dogs in fact are extremely reliable in discriminating narcotics from other substances, then an unexplained failure to alert will significantly, and in marginal cases may fatally, undermine an otherwise sufficient showing in support of a warrant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Williamson

3. “the probable cause inquiry should be `particularly exacting' when the conduct observed by an officer is consistent with lawful activity, and this is so `regardless of an officer's qualifications and experience.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Williamson