United States v. Bailey’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 federal appellate · 1 district · 2 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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[U]se of 404(b) evidence for corroboration [has] inherent complications. Corroboration, in and of itself, is not a separate purpose belonging in the open class of permissible purposes referred to in Rule 404(b)’s second sentence. If it were, evidence could slide past the rule against improper character evidence. To decide if Rule 404(b) evidence is admissible for corroboration, the court must determine what is being corroborated and how. If similar past acts were corroborative only because they showed the defendant’s character and the likelihood of “action in conformity therewith,” plainly the rule would call for exclusion. On the other hand, evidence might corroborate a witness’s testimony by showing plan, purpose, intent, etc. and therefore be admissible under 404(b). The label “corroboration” thus merely invites a closer look at exactly how the evidence may be probative.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Linares · State v. Ferguson

2. “(1) the language used by the questioner and/or the expert, including use of the actual word “intent”; and (2) whether the context of the testimony makes clear to the jury that the opinion is based on knowledge of general criminal practices, rather than “some special knowledge of the defendant’s mental processes.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. United States v. Miller