Wertz v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A verdict should be certain and import a definite meaning free from ambiguity. If a party believes there is confusion in the wording of a jury’s verdict, that party should call it to the attention of the trial court at the time the verdict is rendered so that any confusion in the verdict’s language can be easily cleared up. It is the duty of the trial judge to decide what the verdict meant, and, in reaching his conclusion thereabout, it [is] his duty to take into consideration not only the language of the verdict, but all the matters that occurred in the course of the trial.... A verdict of a jury should be upheld when it is possible to do so, and carry into effect what was clearly the intention of the jury. When a verdict is so confused, however, that it is not absolutely clear what the jury intended to do, the safest and best course for the court to pursue is to order a new trial. Judges and parties should not be required to guess as to what verdict a jury sought to render.”

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