State v. McCall’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In 1963 the legislature made a defendant’s statement or confession, previously not subject to inspection under the Williams case, discoverable on motion made prior to trial. However, neither the legislature nor the Supreme Court has seen fit to enact a statute or adopt a rule of court granting criminal defendants the additional right to inspect prior to trial statements given by prospective witnesses for the state. The common law on the subject and the constitutional and policy considerations involved have been fully explored and need not be repeated here. Some of the authorities raise doubt in our minds whether, in the absence of a statute or rule of court, a trial court has authority, power or jurisdiction to grant or enforce relief of this kind in any case. ‘We leave the question open, for if the power exists at all this case is not with it.’ Assuming, arguendo, that statements of prosecution witnesses may be required to be produced in advance of testimony in exceptional cases or under unusual circumstances, no such showing was made here; there was only a naked, general demand for production and inspection as a matter of right and for purposes not disclosed by the record. Since statements of witnesses are not ordinarily the proper subject of discovery, this is insufficient to justify an exception to the rule and warrants relief by certiorari.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 213 So. 2d 751 - State v. O'Steen