Holcomb v. State’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 Sons v. State, 116 Ark. 357 , 172 S. W. 1029 , we said: ‘We have held in repeated decisions that unexplained possession of property recently stolen constitutes evidence legally sufficient to warrant a conviction of larceny or of the crime of knowingly receiving stolen property; but that an instruction that such evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction amounts to an instruction on the weight of the evidence and is, for that reason, an invasion of the province of the jury. “ ‘In Duckworth v. State, 83 Ark. 192 , 103 S. W. 601 , the instruction told the jury that ‘the possession of property, recently stolen, unexplained, is evidence of the defendant’s guilt,’ and that if such unexplained possession is corroborated by other evidence tending to connect the accused with the larceny, ‘then you will find them guilty. ’ “ ‘In Thomas v. State, 85 Ark. 138 , 107 S. W. 390 , the court charged the jury that “the possession of property recently stolen, unexplained, . . . would be sufficient under this indictment to sustain a conviction. ’ ’ " ‘In each, of these cases, we held that the instructions given were erroneous for the reason that they were on the weight of the evidence.’ . . . “ 'The rule is that the unexplained possession of recently stolen property is a fact from which an inference of guilt may be drawn. ’ It is wholly within the province of the jury to draw or not to draw such inference, and it is an invasion of the province of the jury to tell them, as a matter of law”

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

2. “"The law provides that: ‘Whoever shall receive or buy any stolen goods, money or chattels, knowing it to be stolen, with intent to deprive the true owner thereof, shall be upon conviction, punished as it, or may be, by law prescribed for the larceny of such goods or chattels.’ "In this connection, you are instructed that in a prosecution for receiving stolen- goods, proof of receiving the stolen goods or being in possession thereof knowing them to be stolen is an essential element of the offense. It is not sufficient, Gentlemen, to merely show that the goods were stolen, and that the defendants were in possession thereof, but the possession of recently stolen property, if unexplained to the satisfaction of the jury, is sufficient to sustain a conviction of receiving stolen property. It is for your determination to find whether or not at the time the defendants came into possession thereof, if in fact they were in possession thereof, knowing them to be stolen, they did so with the intent to deprive the true owner of the value thereof. ’ ’”

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