176 Ga. App. 388 - Cater v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It appears that the court's objected-to statement neither defined nor elaborated upon the term `misdemeanor.' Nor did the court indicate that the charged offense was a `felony' or carried the potential for more serious punishment. To surmise that the jury knew the significance of classification of offenses for the purpose of punishment and further that such knowledge influenced their verdict is merely speculative. . . . Furthermore, [sexual battery] was being charged here as a `lesser included' offense of [child molestation], and the jury was so informed without objection. Thus, the relative severity of punishment was already clearly implied, as a matter of common sense. To reverse because the judge labeled one crime a `misdemeanor' when the jury knew it was a `lesser offense' . . . would be to ignore the obvious.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 206 Ga. App. 539 - Green v. State