Rush v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “| T.qHere, proof of aggravating circumstances is not at issue. Rather, the issue is how to appropriately advise the jury of the nature of a previous conviction. We hold that live testimony from a victim of a crime which occurred five years earlier goes far beyond advising the jury of the nature, or general character, of that conviction. A certified copy of the information and judgment of conviction would have easily sufficed. There are substantial policy considerations involved in holding as we do today. First, a defendant should not be forced to defend a second time against a previous charge and conviction. Nor should a defendant be permitted to offer testimony in mitigation of an earlier conviction. Secondly, judicial economy factors into our decision because cross-examination will inevitably follow direct examination of a victim, as it did in the instant case, and the spectre of a trial within a trial looms large. We can see how allowing mini trials of a crime five years later could work to the disadvantage of both the State and the defense. Witnesses could disappear, evidence could be lost, and memories could fade. Without clear direction from the General Assembly that advising the jury of the nature of the previous conviction entails live testimony from victims of those crimes, we decline to interpret the statute as permitting it. For that reason we reverse the sentence and remand this case for the limited purpose of resen-tencing.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2010 Ark. App. 154 - Brown v. State