33 Va. App. 604 - Russell v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “`are better understood as relevant considerations in the totality-of-the-circumstances analysis that traditionally has guided probable-cause determinations: a deficiency in one may be compensated for, in determining the overall reliability of a tip, by a strong showing as to the other, or by some other indicia of reliability.'”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 57 Va. App. 589 - Byrd v. Commonwealth · 50 Va. App. 542 - Byrd v. Commonwealth

2. “[T]he Court should consider the following arguments procedurally defaulted: the defendant’s arguments that [sic] Court should grant no "deference to the officer’s legal determination” that he had probable cause; the defendant’s argument that the trial court failed to properly apply the "totality of the circumstances” or "balanced assessment” test in this case; the defendant's argument that "we do not know the informant’s age, gender, mental status, criminal record, or reputation for truth and veracity” or whether the "informant knew [the defendant] or bore any grudge toward [the defendant]”; that there was no information as to whether the informant was a "drug user or had any basis to recognize heroin”; that "at the time of the incident, the informant’s tips had resulted in [only] three arrests, two recoveries of narcotics, and one search warrant [but] there was no evidence that the informant's tips had resulted in any convictions”; that the informant was inherently unreliable because he was a paid informant; that this Court should "ignore Detective Smith's conclusion that the informant was reliable”; that there is legal significance to Officer Worley’s testimony that Smith informed him that the defendant was only “possibly” in possession of heroin; and that the informant did not "provide any facts concerning behavior that could be corroborated” and that the facts that were provided were “easily obtained facts.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 50 Va. App. 542 - Byrd v. Commonwealth