49 Ohio App. 2d 330 - State v. Rollins’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The inherent power of the trial court and its statutory duty to instruct the jury fully and correctly on all the applicable law is not subject to the whims or strategic desires of any party. While instructions must always be precise and correct, we know of no decision that grants to any party the right to prevent full and adequate instructions on all the applicable law. Such a right, if granted, would undermine the jury system and the function of the trial judge. As we shall discuss later, such a right to a party, if granted, would constitute an abdication of judicial authority, “The problem that arises when one accused at trial fails to testify is always before the jury. ... It is ... a matter of common, public knowledge in this country that the accused has a constitutional right not to do so. We do not share the belief that jurors are ignorant or stupid. Any defendant who chooses not to testify accepts a calculated, strategic risk that his failure will leave an impression upon the jury even though his open failure is otherwise sealed in a vacuum of no comment by counsel and no instructions by the court. Failure to testify is a demonstrated act before the jury. In no way can it be compared to a particular fact that would not come to the jury’s attention unless someone mentioned it. If we would agree that the jury must operate in a vacuum of instructions of law, jurors would be legally free to resolve every question of credibility against a defendant who did not speak up. An”

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