Boyle v. State’s Empirical Analysis
1886
Citation profile
80 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 80 later decisions — most recently August 1989 · most notably Shields v. State (1897), Osburn v. State (1905)
80 state decisions — followed in 12 states
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Goodwin v. State · Epps v. State · Anderson v. State · Ferguson v. . Hubbell · People v. Sanchez
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 80 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““ In the case of Rex vs. Scaife, 1 Mood & R. 551, the declaration was: ‘ I don’t think he would have struck me if I had not provoked him.’ ” Coleridge, J., hesitated, but finally admitted the declaration upon the ground that it might have an influence on the amount of punishment. There was no discussion at all as to whether or not the declaration involved a conclusion. It will be observed that the declaration did not involve the one and vital question in the case, and that it was in favor of and not against the prisoner. The prisoner was not endangered by the want of an opportunity to cross-examine the dying witness because the declaration was in his favor.” “In speaking of this declaration the Kentucky Court of Appeals, in the case of Haney vs. Com. (Ky.), 5 Crim. L. Mag. 47, said that it was the expression of an opinion, but was admissible because in favor of the accused. The Ohio court (Wroe vs. State, 20 Ohio St. 460 ) cites it as being the statement of a fact. It was held in the Kentucky case above, as stated in the syllabus, that “ the general rule that declarations of the deceased are only admissible when they relate to facts and not to mere matters of opinion, is subject to the exception that declarations of the mere opinion of deceased are admissible when they are favorable to the accused, and explain the conduct or motives of the deceased.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.