Crain v. United States’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

353 federal appellate · 67 district · 194 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 736 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We perceive no sound reason why the doing of the prohibited thing, in each and all of the prohibited modes, may not be charged in one count, so that there may be a verdict of guilty upon proof that the accused had done any one of the things constituting a substantive crime under the statute. And this is a view altogether favorable to an accused, who pleads not guilty to the charge contained in a single count; for a judgment on a general verdict of guilty upon that count will be a bar to any further prosecution in respect of any of the matters embraced by it.”

   20 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bianchi v. United States · Korholz v. United States

2. ““ ‘Here the defendant could not have been injured by an inadvertence of that nature. He ought to be held to have waived that which, under the circumstances, would have been a wholly unimportant formality. A waiver ought to be conclusively implied where the parties had proceeded as if defendant had been duly 'arraigned, and a formal plea of not guilty had been interposed, and where there was no objection made on account of its absence until, as in this case, the record was brought to this court for review. It would be inconsistent with the due administration of justice to permit a defendant under such circumstances to lie by, say nothing as to such an objection, and then for the first time urge it in this court.’ ” 232 U.S. at 646 , 34 S.Ct. at 457 .”

   10 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Bradley v. United States · United States ex rel. Campbell v. Bishop

3. “‘‘Neither sound reason nor public policy justifies any departure from settled principles applicable in criminal prosecutions for infamous crimes, liven if there were a wide divergence among the authorities upon this subject, safety lies in adhering to established modes of procedure devised for' the security of life and liberty, nor ought the courts in their abhorrence of crime, nor because of their anxiety to enforce the law against criminals, to countenance the careless manner in which the records of cases involving the life or liberty of an accused, are often prepared. * * * We may have a belief that the accused in the present case did, in fact, plead not guilty of the .Charges' against him in the indictment, but this belief is not founded upon any dear, distinct, affirmative statement of record, but upon inference merely. That will not suffice. We are of opinion that the rule requiring the record of .■a trial for an infamous crime to show affirmatively that it was demanded of the accused to plead to the indictment, or that he did so plead, is mot a matter of form merely, but of substance in the administration of the criminal Jaw; consequently such a defect in the record of a criminal trial is not cured toy section 1025 of the Revised Statutes, but involves the substantial rights tof .the accused. * * * The suggestion that the trial court would not have stated in its order that the jury was sworn to try and tried the issue joined ¡unless .the defendant plead, or was ordered”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Renigar v. United States · Freeman v. United States