Gates v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

124 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 124 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “First, there must be an error or defect-some sort of deviation from a legal rule-that has not been intentionally relinquished or abandoned, i.e., affirmatively waived, by the appellant. Second, the legal error must be clear or obvious, rather than subject to reasonable dispute. Third, the error must have affected the appellant's substantial rights, which in the ordinary case means he must demonstrate that it affected the outcome of the trial court proceedings. Fourth and finally, if the above three prongs are satisfied, the appellate court has the discretion to remedy the error-discretion which ought to be exercised only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”

   13 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 343 Ga. App. 701 - WHALEY v. the STATE. · John Chamberlain v. State

2. “plain error[ ] affecting substantial rights.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 343 Ga. App. 701 - WHALEY v. the STATE. · 350 Ga. App. 752 - Hines v. State

3. “[T]he decision to correct the forfeited error [is] within the sound discretion of the [appellate court], and the court should not exercise that discretion unless the error seriously affect[s] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 350 Ga. App. 752 - Hines v. State · Chrysler Grp. LLC v. Walden