395 N.J. Super. 175 - State v. Sharp’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]here is substantial scientific agreement that unconfirmed canine alerts are not reliable in the absence of laboratory confirmation, largely due to the fact the canines cannot meaningfully discriminate between background pyrolysis products [those created by the combustion] and accelerants.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Yell v. Commonwealth

2. “While the reliability of tracking dogs has been widely recognized and generally accepted by the courts, with thirty-two states approving of admissions of trailing by [dogs], courts have been much less receptive to accelerant-detection [canine alerts] not confirmed by laboratory analysis.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Yell v. Commonwealth

3. “without a specific verifiable identification of just what is present [by a lab], the investigator cannot decide the significance of such positive alerts”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Yell v. Commonwealth