State v. Simpson’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 word “possession” includes actual as well as constructive possession, and also sole as well as joint possession. A person who has direct physical control of something on or around [his] [her] person is in actual possession of it. A person who is not in actual possession, but who has knowledge of the presence of something and has the authority or right to maintain control of it either alone or together with someone else, is in constructive possession of it. If one person alone has possession of-something, possession is sole. If two or more persons share possession, possession is joint.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Maghee · State v. Padavich

2. “erroneously allowed the jury to find the defendant possessed the marijuana upon proof that the defendant jointly controlled the house in which the marijuana was found. At a minimum, the court should have given the defendant's requested instruction that constructive possession could not be proved by showing that the drugs were found on premises over which the defendant had joint dominion and control. Without such an instruction the jury could easily conclude that the "place" where the drugs were found was the house, not some more localized site within the house/premises. .... If we are true to our holding in Reeves , we must agree with the defendant that the court's instruction on constructive possession was wrong. That is because in Reeves we held that "where the accused has not been in exclusive possession of the premises but only in joint possession, knowledge of the presence of the substances on the premises and the ability to maintain control over them by the accused will not be inferred but must be established by proof."”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Webb · State v. Cashen

3. “Constructive possession occurs when the defendant maintains the control or a right to control the place where the controlled substance is found, and may be inferred when the substance is found in a place which is accessible to the defendant and subjected to her dominion and control, or the joint dominion and control of the defendant and other persons.”

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