Ruffin v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

38 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges. This presumption remains with the defendant throughout every stage of the trial and is not overcome unless you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. The State has the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. This burden remains on the State throughout the trial. The defendant is not required to prove [his] [her] innocence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Carroll v. State · 181 Md. App. 477 - Turner v. State

2. “[d]eviations in substance will not be tolerated.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Savoy v. State · 186 Md. App. 204 - Drake and Charles v. State

3. “[e]very defendant in every criminal jury trial is entitled to the same presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt standard of proof. Uniformity in defining those terms for the jury, by giving the pattern jury instruction, ensures that all defendants will equally receive an appropriate definition of the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt standard of proof.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 196 Md. App. 81 - Davis v. State