State v. Briggs’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. ““On the merits, defendant’s argument appears to address an allegedly prejudicial remark which has not been previously argued in this state. La.C.Cr.P. art. 770, which sets forth the prejudicial remarks which mandate a mistrial, does not encompass references to indigency. When a remark or comment is made that might create prejudice to the defendant, yet is not within the scope of La.C.Cr.P. art. 770, the trial judge shall admonish the jury to disregard the comment or grant a mistrial if admonishment cannot overcome the damage to a fair trial. La. C.Cr.P. art. 771. Here, defendant states that only a mistrial was requested thereby negating any question as to whether an admonition to the jury should have been made. State v. Baldwin, 388 So.2d 664 (La.1980); State v. Egena, 369 So.2d 1295 (La.1979); State v. Matthews, 354 So.2d 552 (La.1978). “Mistrial is a drastic remedy and, except in instances in which the mistrial is mandatory, is warranted only when a trial error results in substantial prejudice to the defendant depriving him of a reasonable expectation of a fair trial. State v. Goods, 403 So.2d 1205 (La.1981); State v. Heads, 370 So.2d 564 (La.1979); State v. Overton, 337 So.2d 1058 (La.1976). Where the reference to defendant’s poverty made in argument by the state in a manner intended to inject class prejudices into the verdict, a much different situation would present itself. However, here the reference is merely incidental in the fulfillment of the requirement to read the”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 622 So. 2d 268 - State v. Coates