State v. Schulz’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. “[rjeading the indictment to the defendant coupled with his admission of the acts described in it is a sufficient factual basis for a guilty plea, as long as the charge is uncomplicated, the indictment detailed and specific, and the admissions unequivocal.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Roedder · State v. Olson

2. “Receiving guilty pleas is a process beset with pitfalls. The two most dangerous of these have long been recognized: coerced pleas 6 and ignorant pleas. The first of these plainly is condemned by the Fifth Amendment’s mandate that no one be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. The second arises from the guilty plea as perhaps the supreme instance of waiver known to our system of justice, one by which all [] trial rights and safeguards are voluntarily foregone, and a defendant deliberately submits to conviction. If this is to be permitted, a decent system of justice, at a minimum, will concern itself that the admission is voluntary and intelligently made. These are core considerations, requirements that manifestly must lie at the heart of any respectable system for settling (as opposed to trying) criminal charges.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Nachtigall · Petrilli v. Leapley

3. “It is essential that this suggested colloquy between the judge and the defendant be meaningful. Simple affirmative or negative answers or responses which merely mimic the indictment or the plea agreement cannot fully elucidate the defendant’s state of mind. For this reason the trial court should question the defendant in a manner that requires the accused to provide narrative responses. Questions concerning the setting of the crime, the precise nature of the defendant’s actions, or the motives of the defendant, for instance, will force the defendant to provide the factual basis in his own words. The court should not be satisfied with coached responses, nor allow a defendant to be unresponsive.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Nachtigall · State v. Apple