Hunter v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[PJetitioner was asked five questions that put him in a position of characterizing the testimony of two other witnesses. He was asked five “were-they-lying” questions. These questions were impermissible as a matter of law because they encroached on the province of the jury by asking petitioner to judge the credibility of the detectives and weigh their testimony, ie., he was asked: “And the detective was lying?” The questions also asked petitioner to stand in place of the jury by resolving contested facts. Moreover, the questions were overly argumentative. They created the risk that the jury might conclude that, in order to acquit petitioner, it would have to find that the police officers lied. The questions were further unfair because it is possible that neither the petitioner nor the police officers deliberately misrepresented the truth. These questions forced petitioner to choose between answering in a way that would allow the jury to draw the inference that he was lying or taking the risk of alienating the jury by accusing the police officers of lying. Therefore, the trial court erred in allowing the State to ask petitioner “were-they-lying” questions. When prosecutors ask “were-they-lying” questions, especially when they ask them of a defendant, they, almost always, will risk reversal.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 234 Md. App. 501 - Wallace-Bey v. State · 239 Md. App. 168 - Walter v. State

2. “The jury sent four notes to the trial court. Three asked for additional information or clarification of certain information. One of the questions related to the pawnshop ticket and may have been related to a concern the jury had about the truthfulness of petitioner’s testimony that he had pawned the ring for a friend. Another related to whether the petitioner had signed a confession, which may have been referring to the conflict between the officers’ and the petitioner’s testimony in respect to whether he had confessed and, thus, this jury question may have directly related to the “were-they-lying” questions. The jury’s question, in respect to possession of stolen property, may have related to a juror’s concern that by pawning the stolen property for a Mend, the petitioner must have assumed that the property was stolen. Additionally, the jury sent one note telling the trial judge that they doubted their ability to reach a unanimous verdict. We are unable to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the jury was not affected by the “were-they-lying” questions. Therefore, the trial court’s error in allowing the questions was not harmless.”

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

3. ““An evidentiary or procedural error in a trial is bound, in some fashion, to affect the delicately balanced, decisional process. The abnegation of a particular rule upon which the defense intended to rely may often inflict more damage than initially apparent; a meritorious line of defense may be abandoned as a result; an important witness may not be called; strategies are often forsaken. The future course of the trial inevitably must be changed to accommodate the rulings made. It is the impact of the erroneous ruling upon the defendant’s trial and the effect it has upon the decisional process which is of primary concern .... ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 234 Md. App. 501 - Wallace-Bey v. State