State v. Zaragoza’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “1. Whether the vehicle was running; 2. Whether the ignition was on; 3. Where the ignition key was located; 4. Where and in what position the driver was found in the vehicle; 5. Whether the person was awake or asleep; 6. Whether the vehicle’s headlights were on; 7. Where the vehicle was stopped; 8. Whether the driver had voluntarily pulled off the road; 9. Time of day; 10. Weather conditions; 11. Whether the heater or air conditioner was on; 12. Whether the windows were up or down; 13. Any explanation of the circumstances shown by the evidence. This list is not meant to be all-inclusive. It is up to you to examine all the available evidence and weigh its credibility in determining whether the defendant actually posed a threat to the public by the exercise of present or imminent control of the vehicle while impaired.”

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

2. “[a]t least under the facts presented here, any instruction defining the scope of the crime must focus on the totality of the circumstances and what they demonstrate about the defendant’s purpose in exercising control of the vehicle. More specifically, we believe the legislature intended to criminalize an impaired person’s control of a vehicle when the circumstances of such control — as actually physically exercised— demonstrate an ultimate purpose of placing the vehicle in motion or directing an influence over a vehicle in motion.”

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

3. “The defendant is in actual physical control of the vehicle if, based on the totality of the circumstances shown by the evidence, his potential use of the vehicle presented a real danger to himself or others at the time alleged.”

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