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Question: What does it mean, "possession is 9/10 of the law"?

Answer: The saying comes from English common law, one of the sources our Founders drew upon in drafting our Constitution.

Comments
16 thru 20 of 21 comments
On 05/12/06
danny g from MA said:
kim your a very smart girl
On 02/24/06
chas from NY said:
Possession is 9/10 of the law means nothing about drugs -- you people gotta learn your history! It means that, if you are in possession of something, you have the advantage of possession should ownership be disputed or some other abuse or fraud occur. like freezing the assets of terrorists held in us banks -- we have possession. it's 9/10 of the law.
On 02/15/06
Andy B from CA said:
My ex-husband left a car in my fathers house over 10 years ago. My father wants the car out of the house, as he may sell the house eventually, and wants it out. Since my ex does not want to move the car, or have anything to do with it, how can I go about towing it to my house, and then selling it?
On 11/07/05
Josh from TX said:
in laymens terms, posession is 9/10th of the law means that in MOST circumstanses if you are in possession of say illegal drugs, or stolen goods, you will be charged with them, whether or not they are yours
On 05/05/04
Natty from KY said:
Bartlett's attributes to the English playwright Colley Cibber the quotation, "Possession is ELEVEN points in the law" ("Women's Wit," 1697, Act 1 [emphasis added]). I do not have a copy of this play, and I do not know the context; but the form of the expression I have heard that makes the most sense is, "Possession is eleven points in the law -- and they say there are but nine." Whether this is a fuller quotation from Cibber or extraneous I do not know.
16 thru 20 of 21 comments



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