228 W. Va. 621 - State v. Surber’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. ““[w]hen an accused chooses to proceed without the assistance of counsel, the preferred procedure is for the trial court to warn the accused of the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation and to make inquiries to assess whether the accused’s choice is knowing, intelligent and voluntary. In the absence of such a colloquy, a conviction may be sustained only if the totality of the record demonstrates that the accused actually understood his right to counsel, understood the difficulties of self-representation, and still knowingly and intelligently chose to exercise the right .to self-representation.” Syllabus Point 7, State v. Sandor, 218 W.Va. 469 , 624 S.E.2d 906 (2005).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State of West Virginia v. Darrell K. Davis

2. ““A defendant in a criminal proceeding who is mentally competent and sui juris, has a constitutional right to appear and defend in person without the assistance of counsel, provided that (1) he voices his desire to represent himself in a timely and unequivocal manner; (2) he elects to do so with full knowledge and understanding of his rights and of the risks involved in self-representation; and (3) he exercises the right in a manner which does not disrupt or create undue delay at trial.” Syllabus Point 8, State v. Sheppard, 172 W.Va. 656 , 310 S.E.2d 173 (1983).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State of West Virginia v. Darrell K. Davis

3. “[a]n appellant must carry the burden of showing error in the judgment of which he complains. This Court will not reverse the judgment of a trial court unless error affirmatively appears from the record. Error will not be presumed, all presumptions being in favor of the correctness of the judgment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State of West Virginia v. Larry A. H.