Berger v. State’s Empirical Analysis
1941
Citation profile
109 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 109 later decisions — most recently January 2002 · most notably Tichnell v. State (1980), 5 Md. App. 450 - Williams v. State (1968)
109 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on State v. Lapage · Coblentz v. State · Simmons v. State · Wentz v. State · Meno v. State
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 109 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““ . . . the introduction of evidence which shows other offenses by the accused should be subjected to rigid scrutiny by the courts because of the great potential for danger which characterizes it. Berger v. State, Young v. State, Weinstein v. State, Gorski v. State, all supra; see Wethington v. State, supra. As we said in Berger : . . To come within the exception to the rule that evidence of previous offenses is irrelevant, there must appear between the previous offense and that with which the defendant is charged some real connection other than the allegation that the offenses have sprung from the same disposition. The exception does not go to the extent of sanctioning the admission of evidence of the ‘propensity’ of the accused to commit crimes similar to that for which he has been indicted. . . .’ 179 Md. at 414 (emphasis added).’ ””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““It is a common practice in this State to charge several offenses, though differing from each other and varying in the punishment authorized to be imposed, in separate counts of one indictment, and try the accused on the several charges at the same time, provided that the offenses are of the same general character and differ only in degree. If a general verdict of guilty is rendered on an indictment containing two counts, both relating to the same transaction, the verdict is in effect a finding as to both counts, and the practice is to pass judgment on the count charging the more serious offense.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““that the introduction of evidence which shows other offenses by the accused should be subjected to rigid scrutiny by the courts because of the great potential for danger which characterizes it.” Id. at 671 .”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.