State v. Lemay’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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. “(1) the defendant may become embarrassed or confounded in presenting separate defenses; (2) proof that defendant is guilty of one offense may be used to convict of him of a second offense, even though such proof would be inadmissible in a separate trial for the second offense; and (3) a defendant may wish to testify in his own behalf on one of the offenses but not another, forcing him to choose the unwanted alternative of testifying as to both or testifying as to neither.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State of Maine v. Havier Olmo

2. “Two or more crimes should be charged in the same indictment ... in a separate count for each crime if the crimes charged ... are of the same or similar character or are based on the same act or transaction or on two or more acts or transactions which are connected or which constitute parts of a common scheme or plan.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State of Maine v. Havier Olmo

3. “If it appears that a defendant ... is prejudiced by a joinder of offenses against a single defendant ... the court may order an election or separate trials of counts, grant a severance of defendants or provide whatever other relief justice requires, including ordering multiple simultaneous trials.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State of Maine v. Havier Olmo