Marrone v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

31 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 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[E]vidence tending to prove that another person did the killing is admissible. The purpose of evidence to show that another committed the homicide is not to prove the guilt of the other person, but to generate a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the defendant. Proper foundation must be laid for the admission of such evidence, however, to avoid the consideration of matters collateral to the crime. "The rule is that [evidence of such acts] by a third person against the victim may not be shown unless coupled with other evidence having an inherent tendency to connect such other person with the actual commission of the crime.' * * * * * * Once the necessary foundation is proven, it is permissible to introduce evidence of a motive of the third person to commit the crime, threats by the third person, or other miscellaneous facts which would tend to prove the third person committed the act.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. James v. State · State v. Glaze

2. “[The essentially unanimous rule is] that mere evidence of [another person's motive to commit the crime], or [even] of motive coupled with threats [made by] such other person, is inadmissible unless coupled with other evidence tending to directly connect such other person with the actual commission of the crime charged.... [The] sound basis for this rule ... rests fundamentally upon the [concept] that evidence to be admissible must be both relevant and material. [The rule] rests upon the necessity that trials of cases must be both orderly and expeditious, [that] they must come to an end, and that it should be a logical end.... [I]t is necessary that the scope of inquiry into collateral and unimportant issues must be strictly limited. It is quite apparent that if evidence of motive alone upon the part of some other person were admissible, that in a case involving the killing of a man who had led an active and aggressive life it might easily be possible for the defendant to produce evidence tending to show that hundreds of other persons had some motive or animus against the deceased; that a great many trial days might be consumed in the pursuit of inquiries which could not be expected to lead to any satisfactory conclusion.”

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

3. “The true test to be applied is whether they [potential jurors] had formed a fixed opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant from what they may have read or heard about the case.”

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