# Posession is 9/10s of the law. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526 "2006-06-28T18:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/1 "2006-06-28T18:28:33Z")
Where did saying originate? Anyone know? I’m pretty positive it’s not true at all, but my uncles liked to use the term to mess with me sometimes as a child when they had the remote control or something goofy like that. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/2 "2006-06-28T18:38:08Z")
Even if that baggie of cocaine isn’t yours, if it’s in your pocket I’m pretty sure YOU’RE going to get the ticket and the arrest. Seems at least somewhat true to me. ---
**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/3 "2006-06-28T18:51:54Z")
Is it written in the law though? ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/4 "2006-06-28T18:57:56Z")
I get this [Possession](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Sqmxj4WLZ3kJ:library.uchastings.edu/library/Library%2520Information/News%2520and%2520FAQ/newsletters/2002/oct2002.pdf+possession+nine+tenths+law&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=50) > [@](#): > > Nine-Tenths of the Law > A recent question at the Referencedesk was about the origin of the saying,“possession is 9/10thsof the law.” Thefirst place we turned to find this was atitle called, Quote It Completely: WorldReference Guide to More Than 5,500Memorable Quotations from Law andLiterature [K58 .Q68 1998, Ref.]. Onpage 833, under the heading Possession,it says, “Possession is very strong; rathermore than nine points of the law” – LordMansfield, 1774.Sometime during the 19thcentury,according to page 674 of A Dictionary ofModern Legal Usage [KF156 .G3671995, Ref.], “nine points” turned into“nine-tenths.” ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/5 "2006-06-28T19:04:18Z")
I get this [Possession](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Sqmxj4WLZ3kJ:library.uchastings.edu/library/Library%2520Information/News%2520and%2520FAQ/newsletters/2002/oct2002.pdf+possession+nine+tenths+law&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=50) > [@](#): > > Nine-Tenths of the Law > A recent question at the Referencedesk was about the origin of the saying,“possession is 9/10thsof the law.” Thefirst place we turned to find this was atitle called, Quote It Completely: WorldReference Guide to More Than 5,500Memorable Quotations from Law andLiterature [K58 .Q68 1998, Ref.]. Onpage 833, under the heading Possession,it says, “Possession is very strong; rathermore than nine points of the law” – LordMansfield, 1774.Sometime during the 19thcentury,according to page 674 of A Dictionary ofModern Legal Usage [KF156 .G3671995, Ref.], “nine points” turned into“nine-tenths.” ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/6 "2006-06-28T19:22:35Z")
The quote gets used (by your uncle for example) as an idea that possesion equals legal right to something. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s about the fact that possesion plays a large part in legal matters. Your uncle has no idea what he’s talking about. Take back that remote control!!! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/7 "2006-06-28T19:24:41Z")
I just read something on this too. I forget the name of the case but it was in England and dealt with who had legal right to a fox - the one who had hunted it or the one who shot it? The original ruling said that physical possesion was the determining factor but on appeal consideration (and the fox) was given to the hunter. If I can find it, I’ll post the case. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/8 "2006-06-28T19:35:20Z")
**SaintCad** : [Pierson v. Post](http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/kinnaman/Pierson%20v.htm) But it’s not the source of the saying. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posession-is-9-10s-of-the-law/362526/9 "2006-06-29T01:42:12Z")
I read somewhere that in Haiti, possession is nine-tenths of the [loa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loa).