Gilleland 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Misconduct of the juror is not made an absolute ground of new trial. But when it is of this character it is addressed to the judgment of the court whether the misconduct of the jury has been such that the defendant has not received a fair and impartial trial. And though the decision of the court refusing a new trial, asked on this ground, is subject to review as in any other case where it is intrusted with the exercise of a judicial discretion, still we think this court should defer much to the judgment of the court below, in view of its better opportunity for observing and knowing all the facts transpiring during the progress of the case or developed on the hearing of the motion. For this court to reverse a judgment on the ground that such a motion has been overruled, it must be made plainly to appear that appellant has probably suffered injustice or sustained some injury by the ruling on the motion. We are unable to see that such is the fact in this case. The affidavits offered in support of the motion shows with reasonable certainty that one of the jurors who tried the case had formed and expressed an opinion of appellant’s guilt before he was summoned as a juror, and could not be said to be an impartial juror. If such was the fact, and he answered the questions propounded to Mm when the jury were being impaneled so as to qualify himself to sit in the case, it may well be held that he was guilty of misconduct as a juror, for which a motion for a new trial upon this ground”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. People v. Guzmán