Commonwealth v. Prewitt’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Our statutes do not undertake to define either robbery or larceny. For their meaning we must have recourse to the common law. ' Blackstone defines robber}»' to be the felonious and forcible taking from the person of another of goods or money of any value, by violence or putting him in fear. This is designated as mixed or compound larceny. Simple larceny is the -felonious taking and carrying away of the personal goods of another. Choses in action, such as bonds, bills and notes, not importing any property in possession, were held not to be thé subject of larceny. Hence our statutes making the taking of such things larceny. The principal ingredient in each is the táking of the personal goods of another, without his consent, and with the intention on the part of the one taking to convert them to his own use. Larceny is the generic term, robbery being specific and of a higher grade than simple larceny because of the element of force or fear entering into it; larceny is of a lower degree of the same offense as that charged in the indictment, and, therefore, punishable under the code, as quoted. The court below erred in not instructing the jury that under the indictment for robbery a conviction for simple larceny might be had.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Brown v. State

2. ““The code provides, Sec. 262, ‘upon an indictment for an offense consisting of different degrees, the defendant may be found guilty of any degree not higher than that charged in the indictment, and may be found guilty of any offense included in that charged in the indictment.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Brown v. State