Hall v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 5 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “This statement clearly asks the jury to consider whether Appellant demonstrated remorse at any time, which necessarily refers to Appellant’s in-eourt demeanor as well. We ... hold that the prosecutor’s ... comment that Appellant has never shown remorse for his actions was clearly a direct comment on Appellant’s failure to testify. The necessary and natural effect of the prosecutor’s comments, viewed from the standpoint of the jury, was to direct the jury’s attention to the Appellant’s invocation of his right to remain silent.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 211 W. Va. 532 - State v. Mills

2. “A comment that directly focuses the jury's attention on the defendant's personal feelings of remorse, which can only be supplied through the defendant's own testimony, necessarily indicates the defendant's failure to testify.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Isaacs v. Head