State v. Logan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

63 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 63 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"[W]hen an appellant, in a criminal case, establishes error, unless a reviewing court, upon its own independent review of the record, is able to declare a belief, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the error in no way influenced the verdict, such error cannot be deemed `harmless' and a reversal is mandated. Such reviewing court must thus be satisfied that there is no reasonable possibility that the evidence complained of—whether erroneously admitted or excluded—may have contributed to the rendition of the guilty verdict."”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Washington v. State · Hutchinson v. State

2. “[Question two]: “There’s been a great deal of media attention focused on the investigation of the shootings and the arrest of the defendant and his codefendant. Has anyone in the prospective jury panel already formed an opinion about the guilt or innocence of the defendant, or about any fact or issue to be decided in this case?” [Question eight]: “During the trial I will instruct you as to the law applicable to the facts of this case. Is there any member of the prospective jury panel who would be unable to base a decision on the evidence presented in court, solely on the evidence presented in court, as instructed by me, without any regard to pity, anger, sympathy, or any other emotion?” [Question nine]: “Is there any ... member of the prospective jury panel who would be unable to base a verdict solely on the evidence presented in the courtroom and the law instructed by me, without regard to anything else they believe they know about this case?” [Question ten]: “Is there any member of the prospective jury panel who would be unable to base their verdict solely on the evidence presented in the courtroom and the law as I tell you it is, without regard to anything you may have learned in the media about the case, or the defendant’s alleged role in it?” [Question eleven]: “The defendant is presumed to be innocent of the charges placed against him. This presumption of innocence remains with the defendant throughout every stage of the trial. The presumption of innocence is not overco”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 177 Md. App. 188 - Muhammad v. State

3. “The scope of voir dire and the form of questions propounded rest firmly within the discretion of the trial judge. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of the trial judge to conduct an adequate voir dire to eliminate prospective jurors from the venire who will be unable to perform their duty fairly and impartially. To that end, the trial judge should focus questions upon “issues particular to the defendant’s case so that biases directly related to the crime, the witnesses, or the defendant may be uncovered.” On appellate review, because the trial judge has had the opportunity to hear and observe the prospective jurors, we pay substantial deference to the judge’s conclusions, unless they are the product of a “voir dire that is cursory, rushed, and unduly limited.” We review the trial judge’s rulings on the record of the voir dire process as a whole to determine whether the trial judge abused his or her discretion.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Burris v. State