State v. Denson’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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Defendant’s last contention is that the reporter’s transcript shows that the judge ordered the three sentences to run concurrently, while the typed minute entry shows that they were to run consecutively. This of course is a matter which requires investigation. The question is not so much which order takes precedence over the other, as which order represents what the judge actually said. There is no question but that the oral judgment is valid and complete when the judge speaks—the question is what he actually said. The minute entry, having been typed, was not made in the courtroom. Likewise, the transcript, having been typed, was not made in the courtroom. Each was made by a different person, one of whom misunderstood the judge. It is also possible that the court reporter mistranslated his notes. The judgment of guilt is affirmed, but the case is remanded to the Superior Court for the purpose of determining what sentence was actually imposed.”

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