Marin v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Our consideration of the case law and our experience in reviewing appeals in drug cases suggests that, insofar as cocaine is concerned, it would normally be unrealistic to consider sale or possession for sale of less than an ounce to involve a large quantity. Offenders dealing with cocaine in such quantities may be likened to retailers. See, e.g., Waters [v. State], 483 P.2d [199] at 201 [Alaska (1971)]. On the other hand, it would ordinarily be appropriate to regard eight ounces or more of cocaine as a large quantity — one that is indicative of commercial activity at the wholesale level. Finally, cases involving an ounce or more but less than eight ounces of cocaine comprise a fairly large middle ground and may be characterized as falling somewhere between clearly retail and clearly wholesale [footnote omitted]. Determining whether a given quantity within this middle range should more properly be deemed large or small will necessarily hinge on the totality of the circumstances of the individual case, including the amount of money involved in the transaction, the purity of the cocaine, the manner and context in which the cocaine is possessed or sold, and the precise nature and extent of the defendant’s participation in the offense.”

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