United States v. Freeman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

76 federal appellate · 1 district · 18 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 97 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““When a defendant calls government agents to the stand in an effort to establish some part of his defense he should be given every reasonable leeway in bringing out whatever may be relevant to the issues before the jury. It is pointless to require a showing, such as the trial judge indicated might be necessary, that such witnesses are hostile. “The agents were adverse parties within the meaning of Rule 43(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C., which permits such witnesses to be cross-examined, asking leading questions, and generally impeached. Although there is no companion provision in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, there is even more reason for permitting such a practice in criminal cases where every proper means of ascertaining the truth should be placed at the defendant’s disposal. “We do not limit our repudiation of the pernicious rule against impeachment of one’s witness to instances in which the witness is an ‘adverse party’ or ‘hostile’. The search for truth is not to be confined by any such limitation, and, as Professor Morgan has aptly said: ‘The fact is that the general prohibition, if it ever had any basis in reason, has no place in any rational system of investigation in modern society and all attempts to modify or qualify it so as to reach sensible results serves only to demonstrate its irrationality and to increase the uncertainties of litigation’. I Morgan, Basic Problems of Evidence, page 64 (1954 Ed.).””

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Stamps · United States v. Bryant

2. “"Of course it was proper for the government to bring out on direct examination the criminal record of its witness. United States v. Murray, 297 F.2d 812 (2 Cir.1962). Not to have done so would surely have subjected the prosecution to criticism. The matter of informing court and jury about information of such clear relevance as the criminal record of a witness called by the prosecution is not something which is to be reserved for the pleasure and strategy of the defense. Whatever the rule may be with respect to the permissible limits for cross-examination of a witness or a defendant, * * * it is usually proper and desirable that the party calling a witness with a criminal record should elicit such information on direct examination."”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Estlick · Commonwealth v. Cadwell

3. ““There may be circumstances where, on proper request of the defense, the trial judge should limit, or even bar such testimony, or allow it only under cautionary instructions because of the witness’ admission of crime implicating the defendant would outweigh the advantages of a full disclosure of the witness’ criminal background.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Silverman · United States v. Ramirez