Malone v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

40 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 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The question before us is whether there was substantial evidence to show that Malone was in constructive possession of the contraband found in the trunk of the car he was driving. T o prove constructive possession, the State must establish that the defendant exercised “care, control, and management over the contraband.” McKenzie, 362 Ark. at 263 , 208 S.W.3d at 175. While we have held that constructive possession may be implied when the contraband is in the joint control of the accused and another, joint occupancy of a car, standing alone, is not sufficient to establish possession. Jones v. State, 355 Ark. 630, 634 , 144 S.W.3d 254, 256 (2004); Kilpatrick v. State, 322 Ark. 728 , 912 S.W.2d 917 (1995). There must be some other factor linking the accused to the contraband. Id. In other words, there must be some evidence that the accused had knowledge of the presence of the contraband in the vehicle. Jones, supra. Other factors to be considered in cases involving vehicles occupied by more than one person are: (1) whether the contraband is in plain view; (2) whether the contraband is found with the accused’s personal effects; (3) whether it is found on the same side of the car seat as the accused was sitting or in near proximity to it; (4) whether the accused is the owner of the automobile, or exercises dominion and control over it; and (5) whether the accused acted suspiciously before or during the arrest. McKenzie, supra (citing Mings v. State, 318 Ark. 201 , 884 S.W.2d 596 (1”

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