43 Md. App. 476 - Rusk v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"we find the evidence legally insufficient to warrant a conclusion that appellant’s words or actions created in the mind of the victim a reasonable fear that if she resisted, he would have harmed her, or that faced with such resistance, he would have used force to overcome it. The prosecutrix stated that she was afraid, and submitted because of'the look in his eyes.’ After both were undressed and in the bed, and she pleaded to him that she wanted to leave, he started to lightly choke her. At oral argument it was brought out that the 'lightly choking’ could have been a heavy caress. We do not believe that 'lightly choking’ along with all the facts and circumstances in the case, were sufficient to cause a reasonable fear which overcame her ability to resist. In the absence of any other evidence showing force used by appellant, we find that the evidence was insufficient to convict appellant of rape.” Id. at 484 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Rusk

2. “[A] person is guilty of rape in the second degree if he (1) engages in vaginal intercourse with another person, (2) by force or threat of force, (3) against the will, and (4) without the consent of the other person. There is no real question here as to the first, third, or fourth elements of the crime. The evidence was certainly sufficient to show that appellant had vaginal intercourse with the victim, and that such act was against her will and without her consent. The point at issue is whether it was accomplished by force or threat of force____ Consent is not the issue here, only whether there was sufficient evidence of force or the threat of force. Unfortunately, courts, including in the present case a majority of this one, often tend to confuse these two elements — force and lack of consent — and to think of them as one. They are not. They mean, and require, different things.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 113 Md. App. 190 - Martin v. State

3. “"I was still begging him to please let, you know, let me leave. I said, 'you can get a lot of other girls down there, for what you want,’ and he just kept saying, 'no’; and then I was really scared, because I can’t describe, you know, what was said. It was more the. look in his eyes; and I said, at that point — I didn’t know what to say; and I said, 'If I do what you want, will you let me go without killing me?’ Because I didn’t know, at that point, what he was going to do; and I started to cry; and when I did, he put his hands on my throat, and started lightly to choke me; and I said, Tf I do what you want, will you let me go?’ And he said, yes, and at that time, I proceeded to do what he wanted me to.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Rusk