State v. Steen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 134 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 138 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““[t]he plain error rule ... is always to be applied cautiously and only in the exceptional case where, after reviewing the entire record, it can be said the claimed error is a ‘fundamental error, something so basic, so prejudicial, so lacking in its elements that justice cannot have been done,’ or ‘where [the error] is grave error which amounts to a denial of a fundamental right of the accused,’ or the error has ‘ “resulted in a miscarriage of justice or in the denial to appellant of a fair trial.” ’ ””

   7 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 154 N.C. App. 148 - State v. Perkins · 201 N.C. App. 681 - State v. Smith

2. “[o]nly unreasonable investigatory stops are unconstitutional. An investigatory stop must be justified by a reasonable suspicion, based on objective facts, that the individual is involved in criminal activity. 2 A court must consider the totality of the circumstances — the whole picture [ — ] in determining whether a reasonable suspicion to make an investigatory stop exists. The stop must be based on specific and articulable facts, as well as the rational inferences from those facts, as viewed through the eyes of a reasonable, cautious officer, guided by his experience and training. The only requirement is a minimal level of objective justification, something more than an unparticularized suspicion or hunch.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 163 N.C. App. 129 - State v. Roberson · 188 N.C. App. 701 - State v. Campbell

3. “has not applied the plain error rule to issues which fall within the realm of the trial court's discretion”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 259 N.C. App. 102 - State v. Blankenship · 165 N.C. App. 275 - State v. Chappell