State v. Hines’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 58 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 62 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In Hines a prospective juror under interrogation stated she was ‘not comfortable with capital punishment.’ The district attorney, in the presence of all the jurors, replied: ‘Well, everybody feels that way but this is the punishment that is provided at this point. And to ease your feelings, I might say to you that no one has been put to death in North Carolina since 1961.’ We held that the statement was improper and prejudicial in that it tended to dilute the solemn obligation imposed upon jurors in capital cases by leading them to believe that Hines and his co-defendants would not or might not be executed even if convicted. Such is not the import of the district attorney’s remarks in this case. Here, the temper, tone and meaning of the district attorney’s remarks were not likely to ease the feelings of the jury, or anyone else, regarding capital punishment. To the contrary, the prosecutor was scolding all persons connected with the administration of the criminal laws for their failure to execute those convicted of a capital crime. Rather than easing the feelings of the jury, the argument tended to emphasize the deadly seriousness of its duty. We think the challenged remarks were well within the bounds of legitimate debate.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Craig · State v. Strickland

2. ““It is the province of a juror to return a verdict which speaks the truth. This duty is his sole responsibility. We cannot allow this solemn obligation to be diluted by statements aliunde the record and foreign to his single duty. In these volatile and bitterly contested cases, in which three human lives hung in the balance, we think the solicitor’s statement was intended to, and in all probability did, lighten the solemn burden of the jurors in returning their verdict." (Emphasis added.) In White , the private prosecutor said: “You will answer the question whether this defendant is guilty of first degree murder. If found guilty, he gets an automatic appeal to the Supreme Court of North Carolina — it is necessary. If any error is made in this court, that Court will say.””

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

3. ““In passing upon a motion for judgment as of nonsuit, the trial judge must consider all the evidence admitted, whether competent or incompetent, in the light most favorable to the State, giving the State the benefit of every reasonable inference to be drawn from the evidence and considering so much of the defendant’s evidence as may be favorable to the State. In considering the motion, the Court is not concerned with the weight of the testimony, or with its truth or falsity, but only with the question of whether there is sufficient evidence for the jury to find that the offense charged has been committed and that defendant committed it.” (Citations omitted.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 31 N.C. App. 588 - State v. Williams