Williams v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(a) Character evidence. (1) Prohibited uses . Subject to subsections (a)(2) and (3) of this Rule, evidence of a person's character or character trait is not admissible to prove that the person acted in accordance with the character or trait on a particular occasion. (2) Criminal and delinquency cases. Subsection (a)(2) of this Rule applies in a criminal case and in a delinquency case. For purposes of subsection (a)(2), "accused" means a defendant in a criminal case and an individual alleged to be delinquent in an action in juvenile court, and "crime" includes a delinquent act as defined by Code, Courts Article, § 3-8A-01. (A) Character of accused. An accused may offer evidence of the accused's pertinent trait of character. If the evidence is admitted, the prosecution may offer evidence to rebut it. (B) Character of victim. Subject to the limitations in Rule 5-412, an accused may offer evidence of an alleged crime victim's pertinent trait of character. If the evidence is admitted, the prosecutor may offer evidence to rebut it. (C) Homicide case. In a homicide case, the prosecutor may offer evidence of the alleged victim's trait of peacefulness to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor. (3) Character of witness. Evidence of the character of a witness with regard to credibility may be admitted under Rules 5-607, 5-608, and 5-609.”

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

2. “if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 239 Md. App. 571 - Sewell v. State

3. “evidence of an individual's character or character trait is inadmissible to prove that[,] on a particular occasion, that individual acted in accordance with that character trait.”

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