114 So. 3d 684 - State v. Thomas’s Empirical Analysis
2013
Citation profile
3
cited by 3 later decisions
1
states following
May 2017
most recently cited
3 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on 305 So. 2d 421 - State v. Hodgeson · 359 So. 2d 965 - State v. Nicholas · 361 So. 2d 849 - State v. Wagster · State v. Green · 375 So. 2d 1379 - State v. Williams
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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“|17Article 772 of the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, referred to as the “no-judge-comment rule,” states: “The judge in the presence of the jury shall not comment upon the facts of the case, either by commenting upon or recapitulating the evidence, repeating the testimony of any witness, or giving an opinion as to what has been proved, not proved, or refuted.” See identical prohibition regarding jury charges in La. Code Crim.P. art. 806. The Century-old rule is that a “[jjudicial comment upon the facts or the evidence in the presence of the jury is a noncorrectable error which must result in mistrial or reversal. [La. Code] Cr.P. [art.] 772[; La. Code] Cr.P. [art.] 806.” State v. Brevelle, 270 So.2d 852, 855 (La.1972) (citing State v. Lonigan, 263 La. 926 , 269 So.2d 816 (1972); State v. Iverson, 136 La. 982 , 68 So. 98 (1915); State v. Langford, 133 La. 120 , 62 So. 597 (1913) (emphasis added)). In State v. Williams, 375 So.2d 1379 (La.1979), where the trial court extensively questioned a witness, the Louisiana Supreme Court explained the no-judge-comment rule and reversed the conviction on the ground that the questioning constituted improper comments on the evidence: The no-judge-comment rule is designed to safeguard the role of the jury as the sole judge of the facts on the issue of guilt or innocence. State v. Hodgeson, 305 So.2d 421 (La.1974) and decisions there cited. Thus, if the effect of a question or comment is to permit a reasonable inference that it expresse”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“[Wjhile Thomas did not object the first two times the judge interjected himself to question the prosecution’s witnesses, he did object the third time it occurred. “Objections to the calling of witnesses by the court or to questioning of witnesses by it may be made at the time or at the next available opportunity when the jury is not present.” La.Code Crim.P. art. 614(C). In this case, there was no recess between the testimonies at issue. The State does not address the timeliness of the defendant’s objection. We find that the objection was preserved for this appeal. Moreover, Article 614(C) uses the permissive “may” instead of the mandatory “shall.” In a case such as this which mandates a life sentence, and where the error was so fundamentally unfair and prejudicial to the defendant, no contemporaneous objection was necessary. See State v. Colligan, 95-880 (La.App. 3 Cir. 8/7/96) , 679 So.2d 184 .”
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.