State v. Lott’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “‘ ‘ The law concerning the effect of evidence showing the possession by an alleged thief of the property he is charged with having stolen is in an apparent state of confusion, due in many cases to loose and inexact methods of expression used in discussing the question. The principal difficulty lies in determining the effect of such evidence. The true rule is, without doubt, that the possession of the property by the defendant soon after the commission of the alleged crime is merely an evidentiary fact tending to establish guilt which should be submitted to the jury, to be considered in connection with all the other facts and circumstances disclosed by the evidence. According to the weight of authority, it does not in any case raise a. presumption of law that the defendant committed the alleged larceny.””

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

2. ““ ‘Possession of articles recently stolen, when coupled with circumstances of hiding or concealing them, or of disposing or attempting to dispose of them, ■or of making false or unreasonable or unsatisfactory explanations of the possession, may be sufficient to connect the possessor with the commission of the ■offense. But mere or bare possession when not coupled with other culpatory or incriminating circumstances, does not alone suffice to justify a conviction.’ ””

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