148 Md. App. 563 - Roebuck v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

13 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 13 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In reaching our conclusion, we are mindful that “the exclusion of a statement exculpating an accused could result in an erroneous conviction.” [Slate v. Anderson, 141 Wis.2d 653 , 416 N.W.2d 276, 280 (1987)]. Moreover, given a defendant’s constitutional right to present a defense, id. at 279, a defendant should not be subjected “to an insurmountable evidentiary hurdle” to obtain admissibility of a hearsay statement that is central to the defense and has been sufficiently corroborated. Id. at 280. Ultimately, it is for the fact finder to assess the veracity of the declaration. Id.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Stewart v. State · Jackson v. State

2. “Under the circumstances here present, [the defendant] was entitled to present his defense, i.e., that Gatton killed [the defendant’s wife]. When Gatton, through the invocation of his right to remain silent became unavailable, [the defendant] was, under the facts of this case, entitled to present to the jury Gatton’s declarations against penal interest through the person that allegedly heard the declarations, Evelyn Johnson. Under the circumstances here present, it was error to deny their admission.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Stewart v. State · Jackson v. State

3. “The circumstances surrounding the making of the statement must be carefully analyzed to determine the likelihood that the statement was truthful. Critical to this analysis is the state of mind of the declarant at the time the statement was made. Unless the declarant then believed the statement to be against his penal interest, there is no basis for presumed reliability. However, because of the unavailability of the declarant and other problems of proof, the party urging this exception is not required to prove the actual state of mind of the declarant but must prove sufficient surrounding facts from which the trial judge may inferentially determine what the state of mind of a reasonable person would have been under the same or similar circumstances..... ... The more important criterion is that a reasonable person, in the situation of the declarant would have perceived the statement as disserving at the time he made it.... * * * In summary, a trial judge considering the admissibility of a hearsay statement offered as a declaration against penal interest must carefully consider the content of the statement in light of all known and relevant circumstances surrounding the making of the statement and all relevant information concerning the declarant, and determine whether the statement was in fact against the declarant’s penal interest and whether a reasonable person in the situation of the declarant would have perceived that it was against his penal interest at the time it was mad”

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