State v. Williams’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The better view is that "without a permit" is an exception. First, the defendant has the immediate opportunity to present his permit, if he has one, and thus avoid prosecution under the statute. There is nothing inherently unfair in requiring persons charged under the statute to present their permits. Second, the statute is intended to prevent the possession of firearms in places where they are most likely to cause harm in the wrong hands, i.e., in public places where their discharge may injure or kill intended or unintended victims. The only exception to this rule is for persons who have demonstrated a need or purpose for carrying firearms and have shown their responsibility to the police in obtaining a permit. The statute is therefore properly characterized as a "general prohibition": Anyone having a firearm in a public place may be prosecuted if he has no permit. "Without a permit" is not an element of the crime, but only indicates that some persons cannot commit the offense by reason of having a valid permit.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Black

2. “[u]nder [its] construction of the statute, the elements of the offense are satisfied when the State proves at trial that a person possessed a pistol in a public place.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Black

3. “determine proactively that a person does not have a permit before arresting that person for possession of a firearm in a public place.”

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