State v. Kirkland’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

34 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 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““No other person in the case identified the persons by name who allegedly called for, got into, and left in [the victim’s] cab except ‘Mrs. Mayo’ through the testimony of [the] officer_ When [the officer’s] testimony as to what Mrs. Mayo told him is considered with the context of [the victim’s] testimony, then it becomes apparent that if the statements attributal to Mrs. Mayo are true, [the accused] was the man who participated in the robbery and Mrs. Mayo’s statements are powerful corroborating evidence of identification. If Mrs. Mayo’s statements are incorrect, then it is equally obvious that [the accused] is probably not one of the men who robbed [the victim]. The source of the information — the person on whose credit the assertion that [the accused] and Pamela got into the cab depends — was Mrs. Mayo. She did not testify and therefore was not subject to the test of cross-examination. [[Image here]] The state has not directed our attention to nor can we discern any legitimate jury issue upon which the questioned evidence would have any bearing except the issue of whether or not the [accused] did, in truth and fact, board [the victim’s] cab, as Mrs. Mayo allegedly asserts, and participate in the robbery of [the victim]. As to this issue, the truth of the matter asserted is of prime importance and [the accused] was entitled to cross-examine the person upon whose credit the matter was asserted as being the truth, to wit, Mrs. Mayo. Cross-examination of [the] officer ... on wh”

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

2. “The theory of the Hearsay rule is that the many possible deficiencies, suppressions, sources of error and untrustworthiness, which lie underneath the bare untested assertion of a witness, may be best brought to light and exposed by the test of Cross-examination. It is here sufficient to note that the Hearsay rule, as accepted in our law, signifies a rule rejecting assertions, offered testimonially, which have not been in some way subjected to the test of Cross-examination.”

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

3. “to prove what she [witness] said was true but in order to present some evidence for the jury's evaluation as to what was told to this witness and upon which I am given to understand by the prosecuting attorney that this witness did rely.”

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