38 Va. App. 520 - Esser v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A statement comes within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule and is admissible to prove the truth of the matter stated, when the statement is spontaneous and impulsive, thus guaranteeing its reliability____ The statement must be prompted by a startling event and be made at such time and under such circumstances as to preclude the presumption that it was made as the result of deliberation. In addition, the declarant must have firsthand knowledge of the startling event. The decision whether the statement qualifies as an excited utterance lies within the discretion of the trial court.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 60 Va. App. 237 - Hicks v. Commonwealth · 52 Va. App. 423 - Caison v. Commonwealth

2. “Whether a hearsay statement is an excited utterance is not determined solely by the lapse of time between the startling event and the declaration. Instead, the lapse of time is but one circumstance to consider when determining whether the declarant’s statement was prompted by a startling event, and not the product of premeditation, reflection, or design.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 58 Va. App. 655 - Perry v. Commonwealth