State v. Spears’s Empirical Analysis
1966
Citation profile
36 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 36 later decisions — most recently April 2011 · most notably State v. Stanley (1975), State v. Evans (1971)
36 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on State v. Rogers · Linkous v. Millner · United States v. Republic of France · 26 Ill. 2d 308 - The PEOPLE v. Brown · State v. Outing
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 36 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Where the perpetration of a felony has been entered on, one who had aided or encouraged its commission cannot escape criminal responsibility by quietly withdrawing from the scene. The influence and effect of his aiding or encouraging continues until he renounces the common purpose and makes it plain to the others that he has done so and that he does not intend to participate further.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““It is a general rule under the common law that one is not liable for the criminal acts of another in which he did not participate directly or indirectly. A person is a party to an offense, however, if he either actually commits the offense or does some act which forms a part thereof, or if he assists in the actual commission of the offense or of any act which forms part thereof, or directly or indirectly counsels or procures any person to commit the offense or to do any act forming a part thereof. To constitute one a party to an offense it has been held to be essential that he be concerned in its commission in some affirmative manner, as by actual commission of the crime or by aiding and abetting in its commission and it has been regarded as a general proposition that no one can be properly convicted of a crime to the commission of which he has never expressly or impliedly given his assent.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. State v. Keller““A principal in a crime must be actually or constructively present, aiding and abetting the commission of the offense. It is not necessary that he do some act at the time in order to constitute him a principal, but he must encourage its commission by acts or gestures, either before or at the time of the commission of the offense, with full knowledge of the intent of the persons who commit the offense. He must do some act at the time of the commission of the crime that is in furtherance of the offense.””
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. State v. Keller
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.