Smith v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
305 F.2d 197 · 1962
Citation profile
52 federal appellate · 1 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 56 later decisions — most recently November 2012 · most notably United States v. Polizzi (1974), United States v. Allsup (1977)
52 federal appellate · 1 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 15 U.S.C. § 714M · 18 U.S.C. § 371 · 18 U.S.C. § 434 · 18 U.S.C. § 871 (Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000) · 26 U.S.C. § 55 · 26 U.S.C. § 6103 · 26 U.S.C. § 7213 · 26 U.S.C. § 7807
Relies on Elkins v. United States · Michelson v. United States · United States v. Mississippi Valley Generating Co. · Edgington v. United States · Villaroman v. United States
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 56 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““ . . . [D]uring the stress of a criminal trial, few, if any judges can altogether avoid words or action, inadvertent or otherwise, which seem inappropriate when later examined in the calm cloisters of the appellate court.””
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Now, during the course of the trial I occasionally asked questions of a witness. I did that because I thought that there was some question that should be developed about which you should have information. .But I did not intend to indicate that I favored either the Government or the defendant, and I do not intend to do so. So please do not assume that .1 have any opinion as to the matters to which my questions related. “To make it very specific, if any of you know, or think you know, by any words or actions of mine what my attitude is towards the questions of fact that will be submitted to you, you are instructed that you can disregard my opinion, for under the law you are the sole and exclusive judges of the facts and the credibility of all witnesses. This instruction, however, is subject to one qualification. In so far as I lay down the rules of law, you are bound to follow them whether you agree with them or not.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Whatever may have been said in some of the earlier cases, to the effect that evidence of the good character of the defendant is not to be considered unless the other evidence leaves the mind in doubt, the decided weight of authority now is that good character, when considered in connection with the other evidence in the case, may generate a reasonable doubt. The circumstances may be such that an established reputation for good character, if it is relevant to the issue, would alone create a reasonable doubt, although without it the other evidence would be convincing.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.