Overstreet v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

66 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 66 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““An indictment may .contain more-than is'necessary, or it may be phrased in inapt words, or the sentences may be ungrammatically or awkwardly expressed, or the spelling not conform to approved standards, but.if, when considered as- a whole, the charge is stated with sufficient clearness and certainty to enable a person of common understanding to know what he is charged with and to enable the court to pronounce judgment, no error in form of expression will make the -indictment bad. Nor will any difference between the accusative part of the indictment and the body or descriptive part of it, that is not-so substantial as to be misleading, be fatal to the sufficiency of the pleading. -In other words, in considering the sufficiency of an indictment, it will be read- and considered as a whole, and if when so read and considered it substantially conforms to the requirements of the code in respect to the matters therein pointed- out as material and necessary, it will be a good indictment.””

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smith v. Commonwealth · Adkins v. Commonwealth

2. ““Strictly and technically speaking, the indictment is not good, either as an indictment for arson or for house burning. But, conceding this much, it does not follow that the demurrer should have been sustained, or that the motion for a directed verdict was improperly overruled.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smith v. Commonwealth