39 Md. App. 384 - Bishop v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““At one end of the spectrum, in that band least favorable to the State and most favorable to the accused, the proof would be so clear and decisive that reasonable minds could not differ in finding that the witness was an accomplice. In such a situation, the State would be vulnerable to a motion for a judgment of acquittal at the end of the State’s case and, in a jury trial, at the end of the entire case, if the witness’s testimony had not been adequately corroborated. In a court trial, the accused would be entitled to an acquittal. In a jury trial, even if the accomplice testimony were prima facie corroborated so that the motion did not go against the State, the defendant would still be entitled to an instruction, upon proper request, to the effect that the witness was an accomplice, as a matter of law, so as to require the jury to find for themselves independent corroboration.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Silva v. State · 88 Md. App. 229 - Burroughs v. State

2. “"Not much in the way of evidence corroborative of the accomplice’s testimony has been required by our cases. We have, however, consistently held the view that while the corroborative evidence need not be sufficient in itself to convict, it must relate to material facts tending either (1) to identify the accused with the perpetrators of the crime or (2) to show the participation of the accused in the crime itself.... If with some degree of cogency the corroborative evidence tends to establish either of these matters, the trier of fact may credit the accomplice’s testimony even with respect to matters as to which no corroboration was adduced.... That corroboration need not extend to every detail and indeed may even be circumstantial is also settled by our cases.” (citations omitted).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 49 Md. App. 696 - Proctor v. State

3. ““[T]he court must find, in effect, that the testimony was so conclusive that, were a directed verdict of guilty available in a criminal trial, and had the witness been the party charged with the crime, it would have been the witness’s fate to have such entered against him.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 88 Md. App. 229 - Burroughs v. State