48 N.C. App. 689 - State v. Hunter’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. “(a) Before the jury retires for deliberation, the judge must give an instruction which informs the jury that in order to return a verdict, all 12 jurors must agree to a verdict of guilty or not guilty. (b) Before the jury retires for deliberation, the judge may give an instruction which informs the jury that: (1) Jurors have a duty to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement, if it can be done without violence to individual judgment; (2) Each juror must decide the case for himself, but only after an impartial consideration of the evidence with his fellow jurors; (3) In the course of deliberations, a juror should not hesitate to reexamine his own views and change his opinion if convinced it is erroneous; and (4) No juror should surrender his honest conviction as to the weight or effect of the evidence solely be cause of the opinion of his fellow jurors, or for the mere purpose of returning a verdict. (c) If it appears to the judge that the j ury has been unable to agree, the judge may require the jury to continue its deliberations and may give or repeat the instructions provided in subsections (a) and (b). ...”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 48 N.C. App. 649 - State v. Lipfird

2. “We do not concede, however, that the legislature intended to require a trial judge, without regard to the circumstances then existing to either recite G.S. 15A-1235(b) every time a jury returns to the courtroom without a verdict or discharge the jury. We believe, instead, that the section should be regarded as providing the guidelines to which Justice Branch (now Chief Justice) referred in State v. Alston, 294 N.C. 577, 596 , 243 S.E. 2d 354, 366 (1978), and the trial judge must be allowed to exercise his sound judgment to deal with the myriad different circumstances he encounters at trial. He should, of course, avoid any reference to the potential expense and inconvenience in retrying the case should the jury fail to agree. State v. Easterling [ 300 N.C. 594 , 268 S.E. 2d 800 (filed 15 July 1980)].”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 48 N.C. App. 649 - State v. Lipfird