MacDonald v. Moose’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 1 district · 8 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[i]n 2005, William Scott MacDonald was convicted ... of two offenses: the misdemeanor offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, in contravention of Virginia Code section 18.2-371; and the felony offense of violating the Commonwealth’s criminal solicitation statute, found in section 18.2-29. The criminal solicitation statute provides that “[a]ny person age eighteen or older who commands, entreats, or otherwise attempts to persuade another person under age eighteen to commit [a predicate felony, i.e.,] a felony other than murder,” shall be guilty of a felony. Va. Code § 18.2-29. The predicate felony for MacDonald’s criminal solicitation offense was the Commonwealth’s “Crimes Against Nature” statute, which criminalizes, inter alia, “carnal knowledge” by one person of another by the anus or mouth, an act commonly known as sodomy. Va. Code § 18.2-36KA).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Linnon v. Clarke

2. “If any person carnally knows in any manner ... any male or female person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge, he or she shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Doe v. Hood

3. “[t]he anti-sodomy provision [did] not mention the word 'minor,' nor [did] it remotely suggest that the regulation of sexual relations between adults and children had anything to do with its enactment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Doe v. Hood