137 N.C. App. 311 - In Re Faircloth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Because the trial court applied an erroneous legal standard in denying respondent father's request to call the children as witnesses, we must reverse the adjudication order in this case and remand the matter to the District Court for a new hearing at which the competence of the children to testify, should they be called as witnesses, shall be determined in accordance with G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 601. In the event the children's mental condition does not render them incompetent to testify, and they are called as witnesses, the trial court shall take appropriate measures to mitigate, insofar as possible, any harmful effects to them of being required to testify.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 153 N.C. App. 565 - In Re Faircloth · In Re Jam. J.

2. “[P]reliminary questions concerning the qualification of a person to be a witness are determined by the trial court, which is not bound by the rules of evidence in making such a determination. In determining whether a person is competent to testify, the court may consider any relevant information which may come to its attention.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 247 N.C. App. 812 - State v. Fleming

3. “the effect that the children's testifying would have on their mental health, rather than upon the ability of the children to understand their obligation to tell the truth and their ability to relate events which they may have seen, heard, or experienced.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. In Re Jam. J.