State v. Sours’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““2. Evidence of the following is admissible in any criminal prosecution under this section to prove the requisite knowledge or belief of the alleged receiver: (1) That he was found in possession or control of other property stolen on separate occasions from two or more persons; (2) That he received other stolen property in another transaction within the year preceding the transaction charged; (3) That he acquired the stolen property for a consideration which he knew was far below its reasonable value.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. McCoy · State v. Robinson

2. ““Section 570.080 ... was derived from the Model Penal Code § 223.6 (Official Draft and Revised Comments, 1980) which defines the receiving offense in terms similar to those adopted in this State. The comments say that, ‘If the prosecutor can prove the requisite state of mind to deprive the true owner of the property, it makes little difference whether the jury infers that the defendant took directly from the owner or acquired the goods from another person who committed the act of taking.’ Id. at 233-234. The purpose of the section was to make it impossible for the appellant to argue (as defendant does here) a ‘technical defense based upon legal distinctions between the closely related activities of stealing and receiving.' Id. at 232. In a nutshell, we hold the present Missouri statute makes the act of disposing of the stolen property the offense of receiving stolen property.” (Emphasis in original.)”

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

3. “Aside from the rule that unexplained possession of recently stolen property can give rise to a presumption the possessor is the thief ..., and recognizing this presumption could not be drawn that the possessor of stolen goods received the property from another in a prosecution under the former receiving statute ..., and, without deciding whether or not the present statute permits such a presumption in a one-party transaction, the possession of recently stolen property is, nevertheless, a circumstance that the jury is entitled to consider, together with other facts and circumstances in the case.”

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