Barrett v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Because of the extensive regulation of motor vehicles and traffic, and also because of the frequency with which a vehicle can become disabled or involved in an accident on public highways, the extent of police-citizen contact involving automobiles will be substantially greater than police-citizen contact in a home or office. Some such contacts will occur because the officer may believe the operator has violated a criminal statute, but many more will not be of that nature. Local police officers . . . frequently investigate vehicle accidents in which there is no claim of criminal liability and engage in what, for want of a better term, may be described as community caretaking functions, totally divorced from the detection, investigation, or acquisition of evidence relating to the violation of a criminal statute. . . . [Ojften [that] noncriminal contact with automobiles will bring . . . officials in “plain view” of evidence, fruits, or instrumentalities of a crime, or contraband.”

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

2. “the pickup truck ... moving forward as if to re-enter the highway,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 18 Va. App. 773 - Barrett v. Commonwealth

3. “smelled a strong odor of alcohol on or about”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 18 Va. App. 773 - Barrett v. Commonwealth