211 W. Va. 155 - State v. Barnhart’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. “2. “The Due Process Clause, Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution requires procedural safeguards against State action which affects a liberty or property interest.” Syllabus point 1, Waite v. Civil Service Commission, 161 W.Va. 164 , 241 S.E.2d 164 (1977). 3. “An appellate court is obligated to see that the guarantee of a fair trial under Section 10 of Article III of the West Virginia Constitution is honored. Thus, only where there is a high probability that an error of due process proportion did not contribute to the criminal conviction will an appellate court affirm. High probability requires that an appellate court possess a sure conviction that the error did not prejudice the defendant.” Syllábus point 11, State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657 , 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995). As the Barnhart opinion concludes: To have an investigating officer of one of the presentments that is being made to the grand jury sit on the grand jury inescapably raises the specter of unfair prejudice. * * * The fact that Officer Wroten did not vote or participate in the indictment returned against Ms. Barnhart is in no way dispositive. * * * [T]his Court cannot discount the possibility that the other grand jurors may have felt influenced by having an investigating police officer remain in the room while they deliberated and voted. * * * Ms. Barnhart was denied the right to have any indictment returned against her by a legally constituted and unbiased grand jury.”

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

2. “By permitting an investigating police officer to sit as a member of the grand jury that indicted Robin Barnhart, and by allowing the officer to remain in the grand jury room during the presentment of the indictment and during deliberations, Ms. Barnhart’s due process rights were violated in such a way that the indictment should have been dismissed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Abdelhaq