State v. Wheeler’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

35 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 35 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““[cjriminal negligence means more than just mere or ordinary negligence which is always frequently an element in a civil case. Whether negligence amounts to criminal or ordinary negligence depends on the degree of negligence presented, if any. If the harm has resulted from the failure to use care which a reasonable prudent person would have used under the circumstances, then that harm has resulted from negligence, but it’s not criminal negligence unless the conduct was such a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have observed under the same circumstances and in order to find criminal negligence you must find more than simply a mistake in judgment by the defendant. Bear in mind that the defendant does not have a duty to foresee the unforeseeable, but what you must be persuaded of is that the defendant’s conduct was a departure from what would have been conduct of an ordinary prudent and careful person under the same circumstances as to be incompatible with proper regard for human life or in other words, disregard of human life or indifferent to its consequences. “In order to convict the defendant of involuntary manslaughter, it’s not enough that the defendant’s action or the defendant’s inaction amounted to criminal negligence. Criminal negligence in and by itself is not sufficient to have a finding of guilt. If you find criminal negligence on the part of this defendant either because of his actions or inactions, you must also find that such”

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

2. ““[Wjhere the subject matter of the testimony is of a mechanical, scientific, professional or like nature, none of which is within the understanding of laymen of ordinary intelligence, and where the witness seeking to testify possesses special knowledge, skill or information about the subject matter acquired by study, observation, practice or experience, then such an individual’s opinion may be heard as an aid to the jury in its quest to discover the truth.” Wheeler, 496 A.2d at 1388 (quoting Morgan v. Washington Trust Co., 105 R.I. 13, 17-18 , 249 A.2d 48, 51 (1969)).”

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

3. ““If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of fact or opinion.””

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