Dallas v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a trial court's decision to await a defendant's testimony before deciding whether to allow proposed prior conviction impeachment evidence does not impermissibly chill the defendant's right to testify. Therefore, a decision to defer ruling does not present a question of constitutional dimension.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burnside v. State · 232 Cal. Rptr. 3d 865 - People v. Hall

2. “envisioned that, had [Dallas] taken the stand, he might not have confined his testimony (consistent with counsel's opening statement) to a denial of an intent to distribute the drugs found in his possession; he might instead have testified that he had never before distributed illegal drugs. Had [Dallas's] testimony been consistent with defense counsel's opening statement, then the trial court might have decided that evidence of the prior convictions carried a risk of unfair prejudice to [Dallas]. Had [Dallas] testified more expansively, then the court might have decided that the State should be permitted to impeach him with the prior convictions.”

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

3. “[i]t is clear that the trial court had enough information at its disposal to conduct the balancing test and make an informed ruling. It had the opening statement of the petitioner, the express statements of the State that it intended to use the prior convictions to impeach the petitioner, the knowledge that the prior convictions were similar to, if not the same, as the charges the petitioner was currently facing, and the completed testimony of one of the officers.... [I]n this case the fact that the prior convictions mirrored the current drug-related charges made the introduction of such evidence before a jury highly prejudicial.”

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