State v. Borst’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 71 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 76 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “and the Bar Association standards contemplated that counsel should be provided in all criminal proceedings for offenses punishable by loss of liberty”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. James v. Headley · Rodriguez v. ROSENBLATT

2. “‘ “Gross misdemeanor” means any crime which is not a felony or misdemeanor.’ A gross misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment for not more than a year or the payment of a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. § 609.03(2). % ‡ # % ‡ “Finally, in State v. Paulick, 277 Minn. 140, 150 , 151 N. W. (2d) 591, 598 [1967], in dealing with the issuance of warrants for arrests, we said: ‘The conclusion is inescapable that under the State and Federal Constitutions we can no longer draw a rational distinction between arrests made for misdemeanors and those made for felonies. The impact on the individual is merely a matter of degree.’ “Thus it is that, rationalize as we will, it is simply impossible to draw a distinction between the right to counsel in misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, and felony cases merely because they are called by different names. A defendant convicted of a misdemeanor may be sentenced to 90 days in jail; conviction of a gross misdemeanor may conceivably lead to a jail sentence of less than 90 days, or only a fine; and still our statutes require that the court provide counsel for an indigent defendant charged with a gross misdemeanor and are silent as to appointing counsel for one charged with a misdemeanor. A defendant in court on a charge defined as a misdemeanor is as helpless to defend himself as he would be if he were charged with a gross misdemeanor or felony. While a misdemeanor under our laws, drawing a sentence which may not exceed 90 days in jail, might be c”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. City of St. Paul v. Whidby

3. “At first blush it would seem that as far as Federal constitutional rights are concerned, decisions holding that it is not necessary to have a jury trial in all cases are controlling because both are derived from the Sixth Amendment as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. * * * But even though the two rights derive from the same provisions of our Federal Constitution, they are not of equal significance when it comes to the matter of obtaining a fair trial. It is conceivable that a fair trial may be had before an impartial judge without a jury, but it is hardly conceivable that a person ignorant in the field of law can adequately defend himself without the assistance of counsel. Consequently, we do not consider the cases involving the right to a jury trial controlling in this area.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. James v. Headley