State v. Renshaw’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

96 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 98 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that '[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.’ The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the same right to the assistance of counsel, including the right to the appointment of coun sel in the case of the indigent defendant, in state criminal prosecutions. [Bjecause '[e]ssential fairness is lacking if an accused cannot put his case effectively in court,’ and because it is unlikely that an accused will be able to present his case effectively without the assistance of counsel, a conviction cannot be allowed to stand where the accused is not represented at trial by counsel unless it be determined that there was an intelligent and competent waiver by the accused. To assure protection of so fundamental a right, courts indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver, and do not permit waiver to be presumed from a silent record. It must appear affirmatively on the record that the accused was offered counsel but intelligently and understandingly rejected the offer. "To be sure, a criminal defendant does have a constitutional right to proceed without counsel if he intelligently and competently waives his right to counsel. But the standard for waiver of the right to counsel remains unchanged. The record must show that the defendant is competent to waive the right to counsel, and that he knowingly and intelligently has do”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Walker · Thompson v. State

2. ““The record must show that the defendant is competent to waive the right to counsel, and that he knowingly and intelligently has done so after being made aware of the advantages and disadvantages of self-representation. * * * Where the accused cannot waive the right to counsel, or has not effectively done so, the court must take steps to insure that the accused is represented by counsel even if he professes his unwillingness to have a lawyer.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 31 Md. App. 121 - Cason v. State · 34 Md. App. 1 - In Re Appeal No. 101, Term 1976

3. “Absent a waiver, effective representation must be afforded regardless of whether it is requested by the accused. (Citation omitted). No waiver having been made here, the trial court should have ordered counsel to continue to render the fullest possible legal representation under the circumstances, with or without the cooperation of the defendant, bearing in mind, as the Supreme Court noted in Gagnon v. Scarpelli, [ 411 U. S. at 787 ] . . . that the lawyer who represents a criminal defendant is “bound by professional duty to present all available evidence and arguments in support of [the client’s] positions and to contest with vigor all adverse evidence and views.” The court erred, therefore, in advising counsel to remain silent unless requested by the defendant to speak. Id. at 270 (Emphasis supplied).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 31 Md. App. 121 - Cason v. State