State v. Mims’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

44 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 46 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “`is vested with the responsibility to ensure the integrity of all stages of the proceedings[,]'”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Lessley · Brown v. State

2. “But a judge of the court occupies a different attitude toward the jury from that of any other person. In the heat and passion often engendered on the trial, in the conflicting arguments and statement of law by opposing counsel, the jury naturally looks to the court to bring certainty out of the confusion. An act, a sentence, or a word from the presiding judge may exert a controlling influence on the verdict. It is for these reasons that a communication by the judge to the jury stands on a different basis from that of another person, and for a like reason the law should throw a higher degree of circumspection around such communications.... [Ojwing to his superior influence, he should make no communication to the jury, except in open court, in the presence of the parties or their counsel, or after a full opportunity has been given them to be present.”

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

3. ““[t]he trial judge should require a record to be kept of all communications received by him from a juror or the jury after the jury has been sworn, and he should not communicate with a juror or the jury on any aspect of the case itself (as distinguished from matters relating to physical comforts and the like), except after notice to all parties and reasonable opportunity for them to be present.””

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