State v. Lem Woon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The defendant attempted to show the revengeful disposition of the Chinese people as a race, to the effect that “when a trouble breaks out between two classes, or factions of the same class, and one man is injured, he does not care particularly whether he gets the assailant or the person who particularly injured him, but is satisfied if he brings injury upon one or the other side or class or faction,” . . . The evidence offered relates to Chinese customs or characteristics, and applies to the race, and not to the individual. But a rule that would admit evidence of such characteristics or customs of a class or a race to affect the credibility of an individual witness of that class or race cannot apply to the Chinese more than to the Negro, Indian, or any other people who practice them. ... To admit such evidence would be a dangerous precedent. Testimony should be received only under legal principles and rules of evidence. . . . . . . But it certainly would be incompetent to show the reputation or trait of character of a class or race of people as to matters that might discredit the race for the purpose of discrediting the testimony of an individual of that race. Each witness should stand or fall by his own character, motives, or customs, and not that of his race.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 2 Wash. App. 769 - State v. Smith