State v. Weems’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “To ascertain the intent of the General Assembly, we begin with the normal, plain meaning of the statute. If the language of the statute is unambiguous and clearly consistent with the statute’s apparent purpose, our inquiry as to the legislative intent ends ordinarily and we apply the statute as written without resort to other rules of construction. We, however, do not read statutory language in a vacuum, nor do we confine strictly our interpretation of a statute’s plain language to the isolated section alone. Rather, the plain language must be viewed within the context of the statutory scheme to which it belongs, considering the purpose, aim, or policy of the [General Assembly] in enacting the statute.”

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

2. “When other avenues of statutory interpretation fail to resolve an ambiguity, the rule of lenity comes into play. This ultimately means that statutes are strictly construed in favor of the accused. In a situation such as this, where contrary interpretations of the statute are possible, we must err on the side of the accused.”

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

3. “larceny, larceny by trick, larceny after trust, embezzlement, false pretenses, shoplifting, and receiving stolen property.”

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