54 Ala. App. 725 - Wright v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The ‘compelling atmosphere’ denounced in Miranda, supra, was not present when Sgt. Latta questioned this appellant. No in-custody interrogation was in progress. This was a general on-the-scene questioning of a citizen under circumstances that warranted investigation and is a well accepted police practice. Ison v. State, 281 Ala. 189 , 200 So.2d 511 ; Burrell v. State, 45 Ala.App. 664 , 235 So.2d 913 . “An officer in the normal course of his patrol at 4:00 A.M., can stop a driver and ask for some identification under the circumstances depicted in this case. The question asked Charles Wright, concerning items in the truck was limited to inviting an explanation of his possession. Under these circumstances, we hold the answers given were within the permissible range of an on-the-scene investigation and not subject to the warning requirements of Miranda, supra. In fact, it would be absurd to require a police officer to warn every person he confronts of his rights.””

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

2. ““General on-the-scene questioning as to facts surrounding a crime or other general questioning of citizens in the fact-finding process is not affected by our holding. It is an act of responsible citizenship for individuals to give whatever information they may have to aid in law enforcement. In such situations the compelling atmosphere inherent in the process of in-custody interrogation is not necessarily present.” “. . . (O)ur decision does not in any way preclude police from carrying out their traditional investigatory functions.” See Wright v. State, 54 Ala.App. 725 , 312 So.2d 417 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 362 So. 2d 1316 - Tucker v. State