State v. James’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[T]he prosecutor is expected to refrain from impugning, directly or through implication, the integrity or institutional role of defense counsel.... There is a distinction [however] between argument that disparages the integrity or role of defense counsel and argument that disparages a theory of defense.... Moreover, not every use of rhetorical language is improper.... There is ample room, in the heat of argument, for the prosecutor to challenge vigorously the arguments made by defense counsel.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 177 Conn. App. 369 - State v. Thomas

2. “when viewed in a light most favorable to the defendant, the proffered DNA and fingerprint evidence only indirectly and tenuously implicated third parties without directly absolving or exculpating the defendant, [and] the court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to give a third party culpability instruction.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 188 Conn. App. 446 - State v. Gray-Brown

3. “some use of sarcastic and informal language, when intended to forcefully criticize a defense theory on the permissible bases of the evidence and the common sense of the jury, is not necessarily improper.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 177 Conn. App. 369 - State v. Thomas