Cross v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

18 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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Cross held that it was error to admit, during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial, proof of the misconduct for which the defendant’s probation was revoked. [Id. at 481] The Court further held that because a preponderance of the evidence standard controls in probation revocation proceedings, rather than the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, a probation revocation does not fall within the ‘conviction exception’ to the general rule forbidding impeachment by proof of pri- or acts of misconduct. [Id.] (Emphasis original.) In the case before us, the prosecutor’s question asked only whether appellant’s probation had been revoked, making no reference whatsoever to the specific misconduct or grounds for the revocation. Thus, the specific error committed in Cross did not occur in appellant’s case. However, in light of the further holding of Cross , stated above, we believe that it was error for the prosecutor to have asked appellant whether his probation had been revoked, regardless of the fact that no reference to the grounds of revocation was made, [footnote 2] [Footnote 2] We note that in this case, as in the Cross case, proof of the probation revocation was unnecessary as the State had available alternative methods of proof of appellant’s prior convictions for impeachment and the burden would have been on appellant to then show that either of the convictions was not final. Cross, supra at 481 .””

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

2. “revocation of probation is not a conviction____ [Probation revocation proceedings are not trials. Probation revocation proceedings are administrative in nature. A violation of probation conditions need be proved only by a preponderance of the evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt (as is required for a conviction, a suspended sentence, or a judgment granting probation). Its value as proof of prior misconduct is correspondingly lower. Because of these differences, a probation revocation does not fall within the “conviction exception” to the general rule forbidding proof of prior acts of misconduct [to impeach.] [Citations omitted.]”

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