People v. Swail’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “The third count of the indictment, as limited by the People’s bill of particulars, charges defendant with criminal contempt in the first degree (Penal Law § 215.51(b)(1)) for “intentionally placing or attempting to place [his wife] in reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death by displaying a loaded shotgun,” thereby violating a “no contact” order of protection. The prosecutor stated on summation that defendant violated the order of protection when he approached his wife’s house carrying a shotgun and talked to his wife through the door, and also violated the order of protection when he broke into the house and entered with the shotgun. “Thus, ‘[i]t is impossible to ascertain ... whether different jurors convicted defendant based on different acts’ ” under the third count of the indictment (People v. Burns, 303 A.D.2d 1032, 1033 , 757 N.Y.S.2d 199 [ (4th Dept. 2003) ], quoting People v. Mc Nab, 167 A.D.2d 858, 858 , 562 N.Y.S.2d 590 [ (4th Dept.1990) ]). Because defendant was charged with a single count of criminal contempt in the first degree, and the jury may have found him guilty based on distinct acts characterized by the prosecutor as violating the order of protection, “defendant’s right to have charges preferred by the[g]rand [j]ury rather than the prosecutor at trial was violated” (People v. George, 255 A.D.2d 881, 881 , 681 N.Y.S.2d 717 [(4th Dept. 1998) ]).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. SWAIL v. Hunt