United States v. Frye’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 federal appellate · 2 district · 9 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 59 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “By focusing on the remedy, Frye loses sight of the right. The right, in this case, is the right to a speedy trial. An assertion of that right is a demand for a speedy trial, which will generally be an objection to a continuance or a motion asking to go to trial. At the very least, a defendant’s assertion of his speedy trial rights should manifest “his desire to be tried promptly.” United States v. Litton Sys., Inc., 722 F.2d 264, 271 (5th Cir.1984). Frye’s repeated motions for dismissal of the capital charge are not an assertion of the right, but are an assertion of the remedy. A motion for dismissal is not evidence that the defendant wants to be tried promptly. See, e.g., Barker, 407 U.S. at 534-35 , 92 S.Ct. 2182 (“More important than the absence of serious prejudice, is the fact that Barker did not want a speedy trial.... Instead the record strongly suggests that while he hoped to take advantage of the delay in which he had acquiesced, and thereby obtain a dismissal of the charges, he definitely did not want to be tried.”).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Franklin v. State

2. “[A] prosecutor can make inconsistent arguments at the separate trials of codefendants without violating the due process clause.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Driggers