State v. Fortes’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

35 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 35 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““While-.there is ample testimony from which a fact finder. could rationally conclude .that defendant consciously possessed or intentionally controlled the pills there is no evidence whatsoever in that record which reasonably yields to the inference that defendant knéw that the pills'were barbiturates. Thus, an inference to that effect would, on this record, be conjectural and speculative, rather than reasonable and rational, and proof based solely on conjecture and speculation will not support' a conviction.”- Id. at 408-09, 293 A.2d at 508 .”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Caldarone · State v. Roddy

2. ““[I]t becomes obvious that the circumstantial evidence essential to a conviction in this case was not incompatible with a reasonable hypothesis of innocence, and that it failed to exclude every reasonable hypothesis but that of guilt. The trial justice was, therefore, clearly wrong when he found that all of the facts and circumstances necessary to the proof of the crime charged had been established beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 410 , 293 A.2d at 509 .”

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