31 N.C. App. 531 - State v. Urban’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “To allow defendant’s prosecution in superior court for the greater offense in this case would subject him to double jeopardy as to the lesser included offense. . . . The election to try defendant in district court for misdemeanor possession was perhaps an inadvertence in view of the apparent evidence which would sup- . port conviction of a felony in superior court. However, the State is bound by that election. It is true, as the State argues, that by defendant’s plea to the lesser offense in district court he was not in jeopardy of the greater offense and harsher penalties of superior court. However, defendant has been convicted and punished already for the lesser offense . . . and to try defendant for the greater offense . . . would also subject defendant to trial of the lesser included offense for which he has been convicted already. Since in fact there was only one transaction this would be double jeopardy as to the lesser offense.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 191 N.C. App. 1 - State v. Corbett