People v. Melton’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “* * * [W]here the request to withdraw the waiver of a jury trial is made sufficiently in advance of trial so as not to interfere with the orderly administration of the business of the court or to result in unnecessary delay or inconvenience to witnesses or to the prejudice of the other party to the action, the court should exercise its discretion to allow the moving party the jury trial he seeks. Certainly, when dealing with a right so fundamental as to be characterized by our Constitution as one which should `remain inviolate', the court should only deny the privilege thus accorded a defendant charged with crime to a trial by his peers where some adverse consequence will flow from his change of mind.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 385 So. 2d 235 - State v. Catanese · 163 Ind. App. 399 - Stevenson v. State

2. ““Whether one accused of crime who has regularly waived a jury trial will be permitted to withdraw the waiver and have his case tried before a jury is ordinarily within the discretion of the trial court. The rule, as expressed in some cases, is that if an accused’s application for withdrawal of waiver is made in due season so as not to substantially delay or impede the cause of justice, the trial court should allow the waiver to be withdrawn. “The authorities are uniformly to the effect that a motion for withdrawal of waiver made after the commencement of the trial is not timely and should not be allowed. Whether a motion for the withdrawal of a waiver of trial by jury made prior to the actual commencement of the trial of the case is timely depends primarily upon the facts and circumstances of the individual case. Where there is no showing that granting the motion irould unduly delay the trial or would otherwise impede justice, the motion is usually held to be timely. In some cases, however, it has been held that a motion for withdrawal of a waiver of jury trial, although made prior to the trial, was not timely and was properly denied by the trial court, the decisions in these cases being based primarily upon the ground that granting the motion would have resulted in an unreasonable delay of the trial.” (Emphasis added, footnotes omitted)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Thomas v. Commonwealth

3. ““Reviewing the facts in this case as they were presented to the trial court, it appears that, one week after the entry of the plea of not guilty and the waiver of jury by defendant at a time when he had no counsel, he, through his subsequently retained lawyer, moved the court for a jury trial. This request was made some thirteen days before the date set for trial. Nothing in the record before the trial judge or on this appeal indicates that the granting of a jury trial would have delayed the trial of the case or in any way have prejudiced the legitimate interests of the prosecution.” People v. Melton, supra, 271 P.2d at 965 , 46 A.L.R.2d at 918 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 163 Ind. App. 399 - Stevenson v. State