104 Md. App. 676 - Rustin v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““With respect to Rustin’s conduct in response to his losing control of his vehicle, there is no evidence that he had any options, made any decisions, or took any specific action whatsoever to avoid the collision. Although he broadly claims that he tried to retain control, he did not specify what steps he took, or even what options were available. He did not even say he could not respond — that he failed to act — because of the emergency. Rather, the evidence indicates that, once Rustin lost control, the vehicle was wholly uncontrollable. “At some point in every collision, there is always an emergency. That does not mean that an emergency instruction is always appropriate. An ‘acts in emergency’ instruction is appropriate only where ‘[t]he jury could have determined ... whether in the light of the alternatives available to him, and the time available to him to recognize and evaluate those alternatives, [Rustin] made a choice that a reasonable, prudent person would make.’ Moats, 60 Md. App. at 494 , 483 A.2d [at 795] (emphasis added). Even if there were an ‘emergency,’ Rustin took no ‘act’ and made no ‘choice’ for the jury to judge in the context of the emergency. Accordingly, we conclude that the circuit court correctly refused to instruct the jury as to ‘acts in emergencies.’ ””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Willis v. Ford · 177 Md. App. 504 - Haney v. Gregory

2. “"When the driver of a motor vehicle is faced with a sudden and real emergency, which was not created by the driver’s own conduct, the driver must exercise reasonable care for his own safety and for the safety of others. The reasonableness of the driver's actions must be measured by the standard of the acts of other drivers of ordinary skill and judgment faced with the same situation. The driver is not to be held to the same coolness or accuracy of judgment which is required of a person who has ample opportunity to fully exercise that personable [sic] judgment.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 177 Md. App. 504 - Haney v. Gregory

3. “and did not specify what action, if any, he took onee he lost control of the van. Id. At trial, Rustin submitted an instruction on the doctrine of sudden emergency, and the trial court refused to give it on the grounds that the evidence did not support it. Id. On appeal, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals held that the trial court properly rejected the sudden emergency instruction, in part, because”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lashbrooks v. Schultz