State v. Miller’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““While it is true this exception of relations in certain degrees appears in the enacting clause of this statute, and therefore it was necessary for the grand jury to negative such a relationship, yet it is also true that, if such a relation existed, it was an absolute defense whether Woodward was guilty or not, and it is a reasonable presumption in the practical administration of justice that a man is acquainted with his own relatives, or at least knows of his relationship to those within the degrees fixed by the statute, and when, as in this case, the defendant was shown to have sworn he did not know who Grant Woodward was, it would have been a work of supererogation for the state to have gone further in. proving the negative. It is true the defendant did not have to prove his innocence; but, if there was any such relationship as would have excused him in aiding Woodward to make his escape, it was peculiarly within his own knowledge, and he has not availed himself of it. . . . “While we think the grand jury was required to negative the relationship of Woodward and defendant, we hold that the knowledge of such a relationship as would, under the statute, excuse defendant for aiding and assisting Woodward escaping arrest, was within the peculiar knowledge of defendant, and could have been established without any inconvenience and upon the authority of our own decisions, as well as those quoted from the common-law authorities, the burden was on him to show the relationship, whic”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. People v. Osaki