Lyman v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[T]here is no general duty on the part of defense counsel to anticipate changes in the law, and only in a rare case would it be ineffective assistance by a trial attorney not to make an objection that would be overruled under prevailing law.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Robinson v. State · HANDY v. the STATE.

2. “The testimony of a single witness is generally sufficient to establish a fact. However, in certain cases, including prosecutions for treason, prosecutions for perjury, and felony cases where the only witness is an accomplice, the testimony of a single witness shall not be sufficient. Nevertheless, corroborating circumstances may dispense with the necessity for the testimony of a second witness, except in prosecutions for treason.”

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

3. “at the time of [Robinson's] trial, Hamm ... had not yet been decided, and the controlling precedent was that there is no error in declining to give an instruction on accomplice corroboration, even if such a charge is requested, where the accomplice's testimony is in fact corroborated by independent evidence.”

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