Gardner v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 46 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 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It is generally considered that it is the duty of the court to instruct the jury on the essential law of the case and of such matters of law without which the defendant will not receive a fair trial, or without which a jury of laymen would be apt to go wrong.... ... While it is generally considered that a request for instruction should be made and an exception to a refusal taken, in order for a defendant to avail himself of the error in the Supreme Court, this is not the universal rule, and there are exceptions to it, especially where the matter is fundamental and goes to the gist of the case.”

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

2. ““But to justify a reversal for an absolute failure to give such an instruction, where it appears that there was Otherwise a fair trial, it should be found to have been prejudicial, and, as a general rule, there should be an exception properly presenting the question.””

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

3. ““Where circumstantial evidence is relied upon for conviction, it must be of such a character that it leads to but one fair and reasonable conclusion, pointing to the defendant to the exclusion of all others as the guilty person. ’ ’”

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