Blaylock v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “`[T]he solemn and sacred duty of a trial judge — is the development and establishment of the truth, and in this connection it is always permissible for the court, . . . to propound to witnesses such questions as it is deemed necessary to elicit any relevant and material evidence, without regard to its effect, whether beneficial to one party or the other.' Brandes v. State , 17 Ala. App. 390 , 391 , 85 So. 824 (1920), quoted in Blaylock v. State , 411 So.2d 1299 , 1302 (Ala.Cr.App. 1982).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 481 So. 2d 1155 - Wesley v. State

2. “(T)he solemn and sacred duty of a trial judge — is the development and establishment of the truth, and in this connection it is always permissible for the court, . . . to propound to witnesses such questions as it is deemed necessary to elicit any relevant and material evidence, without regard to its effect, whether beneficial to one party or the other.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 447 So. 2d 1327 - Smith v. State

3. “The motion should be used, if used at all, as a rifle and not as a shotgun, pointing out the objectionable material and showing why the material is inadmissible and prejudicial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 455 So. 2d 250 - Samuel v. State