State v. Fields’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[a] person who has exclusive control of property is deemed to have possession and control of any substance found on the property. The exclusive possession of premises rule has been modified, however, where automobiles are involved because of ‘the reality of the contemporary use of the automobile as a means of social accommodation.’ In the case of automobiles, the full effect of the exclusive possession rule is tempered by evidence of equal access by persons, other than the owner, to the vehicle. Thus, in cases involving joint control of an automobile, a person is deemed to have possession and control over a controlled substance found in the automobile only where sufficient additional evidence connects him to the controlled substance. Even if one is the owner or renter of a vehicle, constructive possession will not be inferred in circumstances where others have had equal access to the vehicle unless there is evidence of additional incriminating circumstances implicating the person.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Watson