State v. McClain’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

131 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 131 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It is axiomatic that, [t]he plain error doctrine ... is not ... a rule of reviewability. It is a rule of reversibility. That is, it is a doctrine that this court invokes in order to rectify a trial court ruling that, although either not properly preserved or never raised at all in the trial court, nonetheless requires reversal of the trial court's judgment ... for reasons of policy.... Put another way, plain error review is reserved for only the most egregious errors. When an error of such a magnitude exists, it necessitates reversal.”

   12 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 184 Conn. App. 92 - Goodwin Estate Assn., Inc. v. Starke · 179 Conn. App. 345 - State v. Outlaw

2. “An appellate court addressing a claim of plain error first must determine if the error is indeed plain in the sense that it is patent [or] readily [discernible] on the face of a factually adequate record, [and] also ... obvious in the sense of not debatable. ... This determination clearly requires a review of the plain error claim presented in light of the record. Although a complete record and an obvious error are prerequisites for plain error review, they are not, of themselves, sufficient for its application.”

   10 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 179 Conn. App. 345 - State v. Outlaw · 174 Conn. App. 260 - State v. Joseph

3. “[An appellant] cannot prevail under [the plain error doctrine] ... unless he demonstrates that the claimed error is both so clear and so harmful that a failure to reverse the judgment would result in manifest injustice.”

   9 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Weatherspoon · 182 Conn. App. 353 - Kyle S. v. Jayne K.