Ford v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a statement by counsel made at the beginning of a trial, before the presentation of evidence, in which counsel usually provides the fact-finder with an outline of the case, the evidence that is to be presented, and the arguments that are to be made.”

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

2. “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. State v. Heath

3. “an opening statement is not itself evidence, as it is given prior to the presentation of evidence, and often includes a preview of the evidence that counsel expects to present during trial.”

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