State v. Murphy’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 district · 57 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 61 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]he gaze nystagmus test, as do the other commonly used field sobriety tests, requires only the personal observation of the officer administering it. It is objective in nature and does not require expert inteipretation. ... It should be remembered that the [HGN] test was one of a number of field sobriety tests administered by the officer to assist him in assessing [defendant’s] physical condition. Taken together, they were strongly suggestive of intoxication. It does not require an expert to make such objective determinations.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. City of Fargo v. McLaughlin · State v. Helms

2. “At the outset we note that the principal obstacle to the admissibility of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test may be its pretentiously scientific name. Though cumbersome, the test’s title is quite descriptive. “Nystagmus” is a term used to describe an involuntary jerking of the eyeball, a condition that may be aggravated by the effect of chemical depressants on the central nervous system. State v. Superior Court, 149 Ariz. 269, 271 , 718 P.2d 171, 173 (1986) (citing The Merck Manual of Di agnosis and Therapy (14th ed. 1982)). An inability of the eyes to maintain visual fixation as they are turned from side to side is known as “horizontal gaze nystagmus.” Id.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Garrett · State v. Mark C. Hunter

3. “Rule 702 Testimony by experts. If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise. In determining the issue of assistance to the trier of fact, the court may consider the trustworthiness and validity of the scientific technique or mode of analysis employed by the proffered expert. 6 Rule 703 Bases of opinion testimony by experts. The facts or data in the particular case upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by or made known to the expert at or before the hearing. If of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject, the facts or data need not be admissible in evidence. The court may, however, disallow testimony in the form of an opinion or inference if the underlying facts or data indicate lack of trustworthiness. "”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Hullinger · State v. Ito