119 Md. App. 205 - Elmer 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Once Brown’s counsel explained at sidebar that his client had never made the statement, however, the prosecutor had no business maintaining this line of inquiry and should have withdrawn the question. By repeating the question in verbatim detail, even down to editing out the “F” word for the benefit of propriety, the prosecutor only exacerbated the potential for the question to mislead the jury into treating the question itself as actual evidence.... When the prosecutor asked his fourth and final question (which went unanswered), he even went so far as to ask, ‘Did you ever communicate to me that you were going to testify..... ’ This gave the jury the clear impression that the prosecutor’s entire line of questions regarding Brown’s prior inconsistent statement was based on personal knowledge and derived from Brown himself. Not only did the prosecutor have no ability to prove this, it was actually known by him to be false.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Elmer v. State · Walker v. State

2. “Appellant also asks us to reverse out of concern for the public policies behind the inadmissibility of statements made in plea negotiations, because the prosecutor was obviously cross-examining Brown based on information the prosecutor learned during Brown’s plea negotiations. Appellant’s argument for extending the effect of the rule calls upon this Court to reach two separate conclusions: (1) that it violated the policies of Rule 5^410(a)(4) for the prosecutor to use the statement made in plea discussions as the basis for cross-examination on a prior inconsistent statement, and (2) that it furthers those policies to extend the protection of the rule to appellant, who was not a party to the negotiations at issue. In considering these two requested extensions, we notice that we do not have the benefit of a single reported Maryland case interpreting the scope of Rule 5-410, nor one delineating the extent of the specific policies first identified in Wright . We ascribe this lack of precedent to the relative clarity and simplicity of the rule, as well as to the high integrity of the prosecutorial bar in general. The Reporter’s Note to Rule 5-410 does not provide us with any guidance with regard to appellant’s argument either.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 152 Md. App. 442 - Pitt v. State

3. “THE STATE: Mr. Brown, did you ever make the statement that when you came down around the curve ... your attention was drawn to the people that were running from your left, and that at that point in time Allen Elmer put that gun out the window, pulled the trigger, the gun boomed, and the first thing you said to him is what the F did you do? Did you ever make that statement? [COUNSEL FOR BROWN]: Objection. May we approach the bench? THE STATE: Did you ever make that statement, Mr. Brown? [COUNSEL FOR BROWN]: Your Honor— THE COURT: It’s cross-examination. THE STATE: Did you ever make that statement? [COUNSEL FOR BROWN]: Your Honor— THE COURT: Just a minute. Come on up.”

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