State v. Hansen’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

71 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 71 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The state, in other words, can sustain the burden resting upon it only if the evidence before you establishes the existence of every element constituting the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. “The phrase reasonable doubt has no technical or unusual meaning. You can arrive at the real meaning of it by emphasizing the word reasonable. A reasonable doubt is a doubt for which a valid reason can be assigned. It is a doubt which is something more than a guess or surmise. It is not conjecture. A reasonable doubt is not a doubt which is raised by someone simply for the sake of raising doubts, nor is it a doubt suggested by any of the jurors which is not justified by the evidence or the lack of evidence. “A reasonable doubt, in other words, is a real doubt, an honest doubt, one that is based on reason and not merely the possibility of innocence, and it grows out of the evidence or the lack of evidence in the case. “Any doubt other than this is not reasonable. It is not a hesitation arising from any feelings of sympathy or pity for the accused or his family or for any other person or persons who might in any way be affected by the decision. A reasonable doubt is one that is reasonable in light of all the evidence, and one that is honestly entertained by a juror after thorough evaluation and careful examination of all of the evidence in this case. “It is a doubt for which you can in your own minds consciously find a valid reason. Absolute certainty, of course, in the affairs of ”

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

2. “[A] trial court has a responsibility to inquire into and to evaluate carefully all substantial complaints concerning court-appointed counsel.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 3061 - Robinson v. Gwozdz, No. Fa95-0619118 (Feb. 22, 2001)

3. “The extent of that inquiry, however, lies within the discretion of the trial court.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2001 Conn. Super. Ct. 3061 - Robinson v. Gwozdz, No. Fa95-0619118 (Feb. 22, 2001)