Bell v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The search warrant was dated “this — day of June,” 1951. It recites watchings of the premises on June 16, 1951 and June 18, 1951. The affidavit was dated June 22, 1951. The search was made on June 22, 1951. Art. 27, sec. 306 of the Code, as amended by Chapter 81 of the Acts if [sic] 1950, provides that any search or seizure, under the warrant, “shall be made within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of issuance thereof and after the expiration of said fifteen (15) day period said warrant shall be null and void.” On its face the warrant shows that the “date of issuance” must have been not earlier than June 18, 1951 or later than June 22, 1951, and that the Act of 1950 had been complied with. Counsel has argued learnedly and earnestly that an undated search warrant is invalid, but without citing any authority, in this state or elsewhere, directly (or, we think, otherwise) in point. We have carefully considered this argument and the authorities cited. We are satisfied that omission to date the warrant was an immaterial clerical error, which violated no requirement of the constitution or the act and did not invalidate the warrant. If the legislature had intended that “an undated search warrant shall be null and void,” it would have been easy to say so — in 1939 or in 1950. Such a provision would have given a loophole for the guilty and no real protection for either the innocent or the guilty.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 139 Md. App. 501 - Thompson v. State