Sansom v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Secondly, Sansom contends that merely finding a fingerprint, identified as his, at the scene of a crime is insufficient to establish that he committed the offense. In support he cites Mediate v. State, (1986), Ind., 498 N.E.2d 391 . We do not disagree with this contention. We do reject Sansom's proposed application. As the Mediate court pointed out, preclusion of legitimate access to the object upon which the fingerprint was found supports the inference that the fingerprint was not left in consequence of some lawful activity. Furthermore, a defendant's fingerprint on an object which had been moved during the commission of the offense creates a reasonable inference that the defendant left his print on the object when the crime was committed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 658 So. 2d 875 - Deloach v. State

2. “Here the burglary occurred to a private apartment which had been locked when the occupant left. No one had been given permission to enter. The fingerprints [sic] identified as Sansom's was found on a glass jewelry box which had been emptied by the burglar and moved from its place on top of a videocassette recorder which had also been taken. No evidence was presented that might have accounted for the presence of the fingerprint as the result of some innocent activity.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 658 So. 2d 875 - Deloach v. State