Jones v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

57 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 57 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A statement made while an accused is in custody is presumptively involuntary, and the burden is on the State to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a custodial statement was given voluntarily and was knowingly and intelligendy made. Smith v. State, 334 Ark. 190 , 974 S.W.2d 427 (1998). In order to determine whether a waiver of Miranda rights is voluntary, this court looks to see if the confession was the product of free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion, or deception. Diemer v. State, 340 Ark. 223 , 9 S.W.3d 490 (2000). In making this determination, we review the totality of the circumstances, and reverse the trial court only if its decision was clearly erroneous. Humphrey v. State, 327 Ark. 753 , 940 S.W.2d 860 (1997). In determining whether a confession was voluntary, we consider the following factors: age, education, and intelligence of the accused, lack of advice to his constitutional rights, length of detention, the repeated and prolonged nature of the questioning, or the use of physical punishment. Humphrey, 327 Ark. at 760 , 940 S.W.2d 860 ; see also Conner v. State, 334 Ark. 457 , 982 S.W.2d 655 (1998). Further, the credibility of witnesses who testify at a suppression hearing about the circumstances surrounding the appellant’s in-custody confession is for the trial judge to determine, and we defer to the superior position of the trial judge in matters of credibility. Wright v. State, 335 Ark. 395 , 983 S.W.2d 397 (1998). Conflicts i”

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

2. “When an appellant claims that his confession was rendered involuntary because of his drug or alcohol consumption, the level of his comprehension is a factual matter to be resolved by the trial court. While this court will make a closer examination of the appellant’s mental state, we still leave the factual question to the trial court on whether the accused had sufficient capacity to waive his rights. The test of voluntariness of one who claims intoxication at the time of waiving his rights and making a statement, is whether the individual was of sufficient mental capacity to know what he was saying — capable of realizing the meaning of his statement— and that he was not suffering from any hallucinations or delusions. We have also stated that it is significant in making a finding of voluntariness that the accused answered questions without indications of physical or mental disabilities, that the accused remembered a number of other details about the interrogation even though he could not remember waiving his rights, and that a statement was given in a short period of time after his rights had been read to him.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Coon v. Weber