Peak v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “'A mistrial is a drastic remedy that should be used sparingly and only to prevent manifest injustice.' Hammonds v. State , 777 So.2d 750 , 767 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999) (citing Ex parte Thomas , 625 So.2d 1156 (Ala. 1993) ), aff'd, 777 So.2d 777 (Ala. 2000). A mistrial is[, however,] the appropriate remedy when a fundamental error in a trial vitiates its result. Levett v. State , 593 So.2d 130 , 135 (Ala. Crim. App. 1991). 'The decision whether to grant a mistrial rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and the court's ruling on a motion for a mistrial will not be overturned absent a manifest abuse of that discretion.' Peoples v. State , 951 So.2d 755 , 762 (Ala. Crim. App. 2006).”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smoak v. State · Young v. State

2. “"[T]he unusual circumstances of this case limit the holding of the main opinion to the specific facts presented here. In particular, after charging the jury, the circuit court instructed Juror J.G. that she not talk to anyone about the case 'until tomorrow midmorning.' The circuit court requested Juror J.G.'s telephone number so that she could be contacted if she needed to be called back for service on the jury. The next day, once it became apparent that Juror A.D. should be excused from the jury, the circuit court instructed the bailiff to contact Juror J.G. and ask if she could return to serve on the jury. After Juror J.G. returned, the circuit court determined that Juror J.G. had followed its instructions, and 'Juror J.G. assured the court that she ... had not discussed the case, other than to tell her husband that it was a serious case, and that it did not bother her to not have to sit on the jury.' 106 So.3d at 913 . The circuit court then instructed the jury to disregard its previous deliberations and begin its deliberations anew with Juror J.G. Thus, the circuit court's actions in this case were consistent with the following procedure described in Lloyd Noland Hospital v. Durham , 906 So.2d 157 , 167 (Ala. 2005) : " 'Should a judge decide, in his or her discretion, to allow an alternate juror to substitute for a regular juror during deliberations, the court should "conduct a careful voir dire of the alternate to determine if he has been subject to any impermissible out”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Young v. State

3. “"Once [the alternate juror] returned, the circuit court asked [the alternate juror] if she followed the court's instructions not to talk to anyone about the case. [The alternate juror] assured the court that she had followed the court's instructions and had not discussed the case, other than to tell her husband that it was a serious case, and that it did not bother her to not have to sit on the jury. The circuit court then brought the remaining members of the jury into open court and informed them that [the alternate juror] had returned to serve on the jury [and that they must begin their deliberations anew]."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Young v. State