State v. Mansfield’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

60 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 60 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[ E]vidence offered by accused as to the commission of the crime by another person must be limited to such facts as are inconsistent with his own guilt, and to such facts as raise a reasonable inference or presumption as to his own innocence; evidence which can have (no) other effect than to cast a bare suspicion upon another, or to raise a conjectural inference as to the commission of the crime by another, is not admissible.... [BJefore such testimony can be received, there must be such proof of connection with it, such a train of facts or circumstances, as tends clearly to point out such other person as the guilty party. 198 S.C., at 104-105, 16 S.E.2d, at 534-535 (quoting 16 C.J., Criminal Law § 1085, p. 560 (1918) and 20 Am.Jur., Evidence § 20 265, p. 254 (1939); footnotes omitted).”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lorenzen v. State · STALK v. Rice

2. “Evidence offered by a defendant as to the commission of the crime by another person is limited to facts which are inconsistent with the defendant's guilt.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Miller v. State · State v. Al-Amin

3. “To determine whether an identification is reliable, it is necessary to consider the factors set forth in Neil v. Big gers: 1) the opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime; 2) the witness’s degree of attention; 3) the accuracy of the witness’s prior description of the criminal; 4) the level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation; and 5) the amount of time between the crime and the confrontation. The corrupting effect of a suggestive identification is to be weighed against these factors. After the trial court determines the witness’s identification is reliable, the witness is permitted to testify before the jury.”

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