State v. Dodge’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

32 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘It cannot be said as a matter of law that a new trial should be granted whenever an important witness against the defendant shall make an affidavit that he committed perjury in his testimony. If that were so, justice might be defeated in many grave cases.’ In a similar vein the New York Court in People v. Shilitano, 218 N.Y., 169 , 180, said in substance; Recantation on the part of a witness does not necessarily entitle a respondent to a new trial, otherwise the power to give a convicted person a new trial would rest with the witnesses who testified against him. Other courts have also recognized the great danger of accepting without rigid scrutiny this kind of evidence, or recantation of testimony given at the trial as sufficient ground for granting a new trial in criminal cases. Lucia v. State, 77 Vt., 279 ; State v. Blanchard, 88 Minn., 82 ; People v. McGuire, 2 Hun., 269 .””

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

2. ““The mere fact that an important witness comes forward and confesses himself a perjurer at the trial does not ipso facto warrant the court in granting a new trial. Recantation has frequently been declared by the courts to be the most unreliable form of evidence on which to base a new trial.””

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