451 So. 2d 497 - Rolle v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The rule that can be deduced from this line of cases is that newly discovered evidence, if true, must directly invalidate an essential element of the state's case. Riley, 433 So.2d at 980 . For example, if the sole prosecution witness recants his testimony, the state would be left with no evidence, and the petition might be granted. Cf. Tafero, 406 So.2d at 93 n. 8 and 94 n. 11. In each of the cases cited above, the newly discovered evidence did not refute an element of the state's case; rather, the evidence, contradicted other existing evidence. Therefore, in each case, sufficient evidence to convict the petitioner remained even after the allegations in the petition, taken as true, were considered. Cf. Mikulovsky v. State, 54 Wis.2d 699 , 196 N.W.2d 748 (Wis. 1972) where a third party confession was held not sufficient for coram nobis purposes because that confession merely affected the credibility of other independent evidence of the petitioner's guilt. In Riley , Justice Boyd, in dissent, conceded that, even accepting the existence of a third party confession, evidence remained to convict Riley. Boyd argued, however, that no jury could "conceivably" have convicted Riley upon this evidence. The majority, of course, did not accept this argument.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 531 So. 2d 154 - Preston v. State

2. “In the present case, Rolle’s petition alleges that a critical prosecution witness named Wright implicated Rolle at trial, but that now a witness whose identity or existence could not have been earlier discovered claims that Wright confessed responsibility for the crime to him after Rolle was convicted. This sounds like the kind of evidence that might ordinarily merit serious consideration if presented in a timely motion for new trial. However, because it is conceded that there exists other evidence of petitioner’s guilt and the new witness’s testimony would not nullify Wright’s testimony, but merely affect its credibility, we cannot conclude, under the stringent requirements of the case law set out above, that this evidence is sufficient for coram nobis relief. In other words, consideration of the petitioner’s newly discovered evidence, together with the remaining evidence of petitioner’s involvement, would not have mandated the entry of a judgment of acquittal for the petitioner even if known at the time of trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 475 So. 2d 210 - Rolle v. State

3. “In order to be entitled to an evidentia-ry hearing upon a petition for writ of error coram nobis predicated upon the recent discovery of additional evidence, must a showing be made that the defendant would have been entitled to a dismissal or directed verdict of acquittal had the new evidence been considered at the original trial?”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 475 So. 2d 210 - Rolle v. State