Spence v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is obvious that the prosecutor’s sole reason for prevailing on the court to call [the] court’s witness was to get before the jury [the witness’s] extrajudicial hearsay statements implicating [the defendant]. The prosecutor knew that [the witness’s] testimony would be exculpatory as to [the defendant]. The inescapable conclusion is that the State, over objection, prevailed on the court to call a witness who would contribute nothing to the State’s case, for the sole purpose of ‘impeaching’ the witness with otherwise inadmissible hearsay.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Stewart v. State · Bradley v. State

2. “The sole value to the State from Cole’s testimony was that it opened the door for the “impeaching” testimony of Cole’s prior inconsistent statement. The statement was one which the State knew Cole would not acknowledge making. The obvious purpose of calling Cole was not because Cole would contribute anything to the State’s case, but because Cole’s testimony would enable the State to place Cole’s prior statement before the jury and to call Detective Naylor to “impeach” Cole. The improper prejudicial effect is obvious. We must conclude that Cole’s statement and Naylor’s testimony about Cole’s hearsay statement implicating Spence was not offered because the State needed to impeach a witness it insisted be called—the hearsay was really being offered as evidence of Spence’s guilt. (Emphasis supplied.)”

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

3. “The prosecutor indicated Cole would testify that Spence was not involved, but that his purpose for calling Cole was to get before the jury prior out-of-court statements Cole had made to police officers that, in fact, Spence was one of the perpetrators of the burglary and robbery of Mrs. Rowe.... The State then requested that the court call Cole as a court’s witness since Cole was going to state that Spence was not with him when the crime was committed, and the prosecutor wanted to impeach that testimony. (Footnote omitted.) (Emphasis supplied.)”

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