State v. Dahlem’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We agree with Judge Kuhn's concurrence in the court of appeal's opinion, which states: ....[T]rial of the defendant by a six-person jury was dictated by law in this case. The district attorney, in the exercise of his discretion, elected to charge the defendant pursuant to La. R.S. 14:98 with a fourth-offense DWI. Under La. R.S. 14:98(E)(1)(a), the punishment for fourth-offense DWI is imprisonment with or without hard labor for not less than ten years and not more than thirty years and a $ 5,000.00 fine. In accordance with La. Const. art. I, sec. 17 (A), such a case "shall be tried before a jury or six persons, all of whom must concur to render a verdict." See also La.C.Cr.P. art. 782(A). In reliance on these constitutional and statutory provisions, the State, the defense, and the trial court worked together to select a six-person jury to try this case. Although, the State later presented evidence at trial in connection with predicate # 3 which, if accepted, allowed for a sentence at hard labor under La. R.S. 14:98(E)(4)(a), sentencing of the defendant under this sentencing enhancement provision was only a possibility, but never a certainty. Thus, as a practical matter, this case was required to be tried in a six-person jury forum since there was only a possibility that the defendant could receive a sentence at hard labor. In Louisiana, a twelve-person jury is required only when the potential sentence is necessarily confinement at hard labor. La. Const. art. I, sec. 17 (A); La”

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