State v. O'CONNELL’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 65 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 70 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"Circumstantial evidence in this respect is intrinsically no different from testimonial evidence. Admittedly, circumstantial evidence may in some cases point to a wholly incorrect result. Yet this is equally true of testimonial evidence. In both instances, a jury is asked to weigh the chances that the evidence correctly points to guilt against the possibility of inaccuracy or ambiguous inference. In both, the jury must use its experience with people and events in weighing the probabilities. If the jury is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, we can require no more." (citations omitted.)”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hankins v. State · State v. Hilpipre

2. “[Defendant made a hearsay objection only when officer Gary McCormack • was relating circumstances surrounding the first assault. This witness testified he and a fellow officer had responded promptly to a call at the O’Connell mobile home. When they arrived Carole was sobbing, her eyes were red, her cheeks were wet, and the left upper portion of her lip was swollen. A tooth had been chipped and she had some particles of tooth in a little handkerchief or kleenex held in her hand. Over the hearsay objection officer McCormack was permitted to testify Carole “said that her husband had hit her real hard in the back of the he'-d and that he had struck her two or three times in the face and that he knew quite a bit about karate.””

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

3. ““A ruling only granting or denying protection from prejudicial references to challenged evidence cannot preserve the inadmissibility issue for appellate review.” However, “if the ruling reaches the ultimate issue [of admissibility] and declares the evidence admissible or inadmissible, it is ordinarily a final ruling and need not be questioned again during trial [to preserve error].””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Quad City Bank & Trust v. Jim Kircher & Associates, P.C.