State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The district court’s authority to assess credibility and make findings of fact must be viewed, however, in the context of the minimal burden of proof placed upon the State and the limited purpose of the preliminary hearing. The State is not required to prove with absolute certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred, but rather need only produce sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty. This Court has stressed that a preliminary hearing is not a trial on the merits. It is not the purpose of the preliminary hearing to determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Rather, the preliminary hearing is a “safety device” to prevent the accused’s detention without probable cause, and its purpose is to determine whether a trial should be held to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. At its core, the preliminary hearing is a “tool to ‘ferret out groundless and improvident prosecutions.’ ” Accordingly, the probable cause showing required at a preliminary hearing under N.D.R.Crim.P. 5.1 is “a minimal burden of proof.” The standard of probable cause at the preliminary hearing is the same standard of probable cause required for a valid arrest. Under that standard, probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances “are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution in believing an offense has been or is being committed,” and “[k]nowl-edge of facts sufficient to establish guilt is no”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Midell