Reeves v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““. . . The dictionary definition of a ‘dwelling’ per se is a ‘habitation.’ Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. ‘Dwell’ as a verb means to abide, to abide as a permanent resident, etc. So the word ‘dwelling house’ within itself imports a habitation or house where people dwell as a place of residence, although they may be temporarily absent. So it seems to us by inserting the word ‘uninhabited’ as opposed to ‘inhabited’ dwelling under § 85, the lawmakers had in mind a dwelling house not occupied by anyone at the time of the burglary. The expression ‘uninhabited dwelling’ is sui juris [sic] and should be given some meaning not covered by the term ‘dwelling’ itself. The idea that an uninhabited dwelling house means a vacant house not occupied at all as a place of residence is to extend the crime of burglary to vacant buildings merely because they may have been constructed for residence purposes or formerly occupied, but now vacant, a notion entirely out of keeping with the entire spirit and purpose of our statutes on bur glary. Wilful injury to buildings is penalized as malicious injury. Code, Title 14, § 80.” 245 Ala. at 240 , 16 So.2d at 702 . In Moore v. State, supra, the court said: “Generally speaking, a dwelling house is a house which is occupied as a residence, as distinguished from a store, office, warehouse, shop, etc. Within the contemplation of the burglary statute it is said to be ‘uninhabited’ if the occupants have closed the dwelling and have gone away for a time, with”

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