Seely v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 43 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 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(7) Child hearsay in criminal cases. A statement made by a child under the age of ten (10) years concerning any type of sexual offense against that child, where the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment of the United States is applicable, provided: (A) The trial court conducts a hearing outside the presence of the jury, and, with the evidentiary presumption that the statement is unreliable and inadmissible, finds that the statement offered possesses sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness that the truthfulness of the child’s statement is so clear from the surrounding circumstances that the test of cross-examination would be of marginal utility. The trial court may employ any factor it deems appropriate including, but not limited to those listed below, in deciding whether the statement is sufficiently trustworthy. 1. The spontaneity of the statement. 2. The lack of time to fabricate. 3. The consistency and repetition of the statement and whether the child has recanted the statement. It4. The mental state of the child. 5. The competency of the child to testify- 6. The child’s use of terminology unexpected of a child of similar age. 7. The lack of a motive by the child to fabricate the statement. 8. The lack of bias by the child. 9. Whether it is an embarrassing event the child would not normally relate. 10. The credibility of the person testifying to the statement. 11. Suggestiveness created by leading questions. 12. Whether an adult with custody or control of the child ”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. N.W. v. State · N.W. v. State

2. “The text of the Confrontation Clause reflects this focus [on testimonial statements]. It applies to “witnesses” against the accused — in other words, those who “bear testimony.” 2 N. Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). “Testimony,” in turn, is typically “[a] solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact.” Ibid. An accuser who makes a ^formal statement to government officers bears testimony in a sense that a person who makes a casual remark to an acquaintance does not. The constitutional text, like the history underlying the common-law right of confrontation, thus reflects an especially acute concern with a specific type of out-of-court statement.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. N.W. v. State · N.W. v. State

3. “In order for hearsay statements to be admissible against a defendant at a criminal trial, two separate requirements must be met. First, an exception to the general rule prohibiting hearsay must be demonstrated. Second, the admission of the hearsay cannot violate the defendant's Sixth Amendment right”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. MURATORE v. STATE ex rel. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY · Muratore v. State Ex Rel. Department of Public Safety