State v. Miley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In connection with the issue of defendant’s statement to the police, defendant contends that the trial court should have submitted the question of voluntariness to the jury. Counsel for defendant, citing State v. Hill, 276 N.C. 1 , 170 S.E. 2d 885 (1969), concedes that the present law in North Carolina does not require the issue of voluntariness of the confession to be submitted to the jury, but requests that this Court reconsider its position on this question. In State v. Hill, supra, at 14-15, 170 S.E. 2d at 894 , Justice Higgins, speaking for the Court, said: ‘Defense counsel also argue that the voluntariness of the confession should have been one of the issues submitted to the trial jury. Under North Carolina procedure, voluntariness is a preliminary question to be passed on by the trial judge in the absence of the jury. State v. Vickers, 274 N.C. 311 , 163 S.E. 2d 481 ; State v. Gray, 268 N.C. 69 , 150 S.E. 2d 1 ; State v. Barnes, 264 N.C. 517 , 142 S.E. 2d 344 . This procedure, we think, is approved by the Supreme Court of the United States. In Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (Footnote 19), the Court uses this language: “. . . [T]he states are free to allocate functions between the judge and the jury as they see fit.” ’ We see no reason to change this well established rule and refrain from doing so in this case.”

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