State v. Hallal’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “Generally, a witness may testify only to facts within his knowledge and may not testify as to any impression or opinion that he may have. However, where the subject of the testimony is such that a person of ordinary experience may make a natural inference from observed facts, a lay witness may testify as to such inferences. In such cases, the witness must state the observed facts upon which the inference is based. In the instant case, the identification by the victim of appellant as a participant in the September 6, 1987 robbery was based on several factors, one of which was identification by voice. Additionally, the victim identified appellant by similarities in modus operandi between the two incidents and by positively identifying the weapons used in the two robberies. Voice identification constitutes a problem of authentication rather than a problem of a lay witness' competency to identify a voice. Under the circumstances, the testimony of the victim that appellant committed both robberies constituted a natural inference from facts personally observed during the two robberies. The witness stated the factors upon which the inference is based. The fact that identification of appellant as the perpetrator of the September 6, 1987 robbery is based largely on recognition of his voice during a robbery five months later should go to the weight afforded the identification as opposed to its admissibility. (Citations omitted.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 818 So. 2d 807 - State v. Mitchell