State v. Rodgers’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Evidence of other crimes can have a “dangerous and misleading probative force” and, therefore, “its admission should be subjected by the courts to rigid scrutiny.” State v. Reese, 364 Mo. 1221 , 274 S.W.2d 304, 307 (banc 1954). Enough has been written about the term “mug shot” to demonstrate that it should not be employed in a criminal trial. See State v. Newman, 605 S.W.2d 781, 788 (Mo.1980) (citing State v. Rutledge, 524 S.W.2d 449, 458 (Mo.App. 1975); State v. Harris, 534 S.W.2d 516, 518-521 (Mo.App.1976); and State v. Lorenze, 592 S.W.2d 523, 529 (Mo.App. 1979)). There is a disturbing number of cases where witnesses made improper references to “mug shots” or photos in the police files. We have repeatedly expressed our disapproval of the use of the term “mug shots.” See State v. Burns, 581 S.W.2d 590, 593 (Mo.App.1979); State v. Rutledge, 524 S.W.2d at 458 . Nonetheless, we have been reluctant to conclude that this error necessarily connotes the commission of other crimes. Burns, 581 S.W.2d at 593 . Our courts have stated that we are not ready to accept, without proof, the notion that jurors are likely to believe that “persons whose photographs are on file with the police department have committed other crimes.” Harris, 534 S.W.2d at 520 . However, we cannot ignore the obvious that the terms “mug shot” and “mug file” carry unfortunate connotations for some jurors. Thus, the use of a mug shot as evidence must be examined in the light of the facts and circumstances of each c”

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