State v. Edwards’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

61 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 61 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[W]hether [an improper evidentiary ruling] is harmless in a particular case depends upon a number of factors, such as the importance of the witness' testimony in the prosecution's case, whether the testimony was cumulative, the presence or absence of evidence corroborating or contradicting the testimony of the witness on material points, the extent of cross-examination otherwise permitted, and, of course, the overall strength of the prosecution's case.... Most importantly, we must examine the impact of the ... evidence on the trier of fact and the result of the trial.... [T]he proper standard for determining whether an erroneous evidentiary ruling is harmless should be whether the jury's verdict was substantially swayed by the error.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 183 Conn. App. 669 - State v. Rogers · 185 Conn. App. 589 - State v. Montanez

2. “Expert testimony should be admitted when: (1) the witness has a special skill or knowledge directly applicable to a matter in issue, (2) that skill or knowledge is not common to the average person, and (3) the testimony would be helpful to the court or jury in considering the issues .... [T]o render an expert opinion the witness must be qualified to do so and there must be a factual basis for the opinion.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 176 Conn. App. 1 - State v. Steele · 180 Conn. App. 76 - State v. Daniel W.

3. “[ w ] hen an improper evidentiary ruling is not constitutional in nature , the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating that the error was harmful”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 182 Conn. App. 756 - State v. Papineau · 185 Conn. App. 589 - State v. Montanez