State v. Pritchett’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

37 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 37 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Where a chain of circumstances leads up to and establishes a state of fact inconsistent with any theory other than the guilt of the accused, such evidence is entitled to as much weight as any other kind of evidence; but the chain, as it were, must be unbroken, and the facts and circumstances disclosed and relied upon must be irreconcilable with the innocence of the accused in order to justify his conviction .”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Jones · State v. Grim

2. “It matters not that there is no evidence tending to show that some person other than the defendant killed Frossard. That there was opportunity for some other person to do so cannot be gainsaid. True, the evidence raises a strong suspicion of the defendant's guilt. But, mere suspicion, however strong, cannot take the place of evidence, and a verdict based upon mere suspicion will not be permitted to stand. [State v. Nagle (Mo.), 32 S.W.2d 596 ; State v. McMurphy, 324 Mo. 854 , 25 S.W.2d 79 ; State v. Matticker (Mo.), 22 S.W.2d 647 ; State v. Buckley, 309 Mo. 38 , 274 S.W. 74 ; State v. Morney, supra.]”

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

3. “* * * `the circumstances, to warrant a conviction, must be consistent with each other, must tend to prove guilt, and not only must be consistent with the hypothesis of the defendant's guilt, but must be inconsistent with every other reasonable hypothesis, including the hypothesis of his innocence' * * *”

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