State v. King’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

91 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 91 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Our cases provide that argument of counsel must be left largely to the control and discretion of the trial judge and counsel must be allowed wide latitude in the argument of hotly contested cases. State v. Monk, 286 N.C. 509 , 212 S.E. 2d 125 (1975); State v. Seipel, 252 N.C. 335 , 113 S.E. 2d 432 (1960); State v. Barefoot, 241 N.C. 650 , 86 S.E. 2d 424 (1955). Counsel for both sides are entitled to argue to the jury the law and the facts in evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. State v. Monk, supra; State v. Conner, 244 N.C. 109 , 92 S.E. 2d 668 (1956). On the other hand, we have held that counsel may not place before the jury incompetent and prejudicial matters and may not “travel outside the record” by injecting into his argument facts of his knowledge or other facts not included in the evidence. State v. Westbrook, 279 N.C. 18 , 181 S.E. 2d 572 (1971), death sentence vacated, 408 U.S. 939 , 92 S.Ct. 2873 , 33 L.Ed. 2d 761 (1972). Upon objection, the trial judge has a duty to censor remarks not warranted by either the evidence or the law, or remarks calculated to mislead or prejudice the jury. State v. Monk, supra and cases cited therein. Ordinarily, the objection to such improper remarks must be made before verdict to give the trial judge the opportunity to take appropriate action, or else the objection is deemed waived and cannot be raised on appeal except in a death case where the remark was so prejudicial that no instruction from the trial judge”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 69 N.C. App. 199 - State v. Potter

2. “[W]hat did he think of as he lay there dying and the blood rolling out of his neck on the dirt road, did he think about his mother that he lived with and cared for? Did he think will the roses bloom in Heaven, are there any gardens there? Will the branches bloom with blossoms and in winters fill with snow? Will the roses bloom in Heaven, tell me mother ere I go. Did he think of his brothers and sisters when he knew that his life was sputtering from his neck that he would never see again. Did he think of them?”

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

3. “Argument of counsel is largely within the control and discretion of the trial judge. Counsel must be allowed wide latitude in the argument of hotly contested cases. Counsel for both sides are entitled to argue to the jury the law and the facts in evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. State v. King, 299 N.C. 707 , 264 S.E. 2d 40 (1980). . . . (Citation omitted.)”

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