State v. Augustine’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

80 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 80 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” or where the error is such as to “seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings” or where it can be fairly said “the instructional mistake had a probable impact on the jury’s finding that the defendant was guilty.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 177 N.C. App. 710 - State v. Farmer · 182 N.C. App. 417 - State v. Ezzell

2. “a prosecutor's statements during closing argument should not be viewed in isolation but must be considered in the context in which the remarks were made and the overall factual circumstances to which they referred”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 179 N.C. App. 437 - State v. Peterson · 246 N.C. App. 438 - Hayes v. Waltz

3. “In order to meet this burden defendant must satisfy a two part test. First, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the “counsel” guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel’s error were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 235 N.C. App. 187 - State v. King