134 Md. App. 113 - Morgan v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

19 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. “inquire into and measure the weight of the evidence to ascertain whether the State has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, but merely ascertains whether there is any relevant evidence, properly before the jury, legally sufficient to sustain a conviction.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Payton · 235 Md. App. 299 - Lindsey v. State

2. “The standard for our review of the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, after reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Weighing the credibility of witnesses and resolving any conflicts in the evidence are tasks proper for the fact-finder. In performing this fact-finding role, the jury has authority to decide which evidence to accept and which to reject. In this regard, it may believe part of a particular witness’s testimony, but disbelieve other parts of that witness’s testimony. Circumstantial evidence is entirely sufficient to support a conviction, provided the circumstances support rational inferences from which the trier of fact could be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused[.] The same standard applies to all criminal cases, including those resting upon circumstantial evidence, since, generally, proof of guilt based in whole or in part on circumstantial evidence is no different from proof of guilt based on direct eyewitness accounts.”

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

3. “[T]he testimony of Gladney made no mention of defendant’s prior conviction. The jury, therefore, had no way of inferring that the reference to the “earlier trial date” was, in fact, appellant’s trial. The trial judge asked both counsel to approach the bench, at which time the judge admonished the prosecutor, but was not asked to give a curative instruction to the jury regarding the remarks. The court’s failure to give a curative instruction, we conclude from the record, avoided calling the jury’s attention to the matter. ... The Court of Appeals explained in Poole that, even if the jury inferred from the State’s witness that there had been a prior trial, that inference, in and of itself, was not necessarily prejudicial to the appellant’s right to a fair trial..'.. Thus, in Poole, the Court held that the jury’s knowledge of a prior trial alone, did not warrant concluding that the trial judge abused his discretion in denying a motion for mistrial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 153 Md. App. 544 - Brown v. State