Smith v. United States’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 federal appellate · 2 district · 3 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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““One reason the courts have found that assistance of counsel or an intelligent and competent waiver of such assistance is essential to due process in a trial under our Constitution is that the many technicalities of trial may sometimes affect the opportunity of the accused to have a real review of his trial on appeal. Johnson v. Zerbst, supra [ 304 U.S. 458 , 58 S.Ct. 1019 , 82 L.Ed. 1461 ]. Once it is found, however, that such an accused has properly waived his right to counsel, the effects flowing from that decision must be accepted by him, together with the benefits which he presumably sought to obtain therefrom. * * * ””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Smith v. United States · Karl L. Smith v. United States of America, (Two Cases)

2. “The fact that timely objection was not made on the trial is one of the risks assumed when he undertook to defend himself, and we cannot now for the first time find that the trial court committed error in its proceedings when such alleged error was not called to the Court's attention in time for corrective measures to be taken at the trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 1 Conn. Cir. Ct. 356 - State v. Healy

3. “the accused fully understands the charges against him and the possible adverse consequences of not having counsel to represent him”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Spanbauer v. Burke