Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 10 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “From this day forward, extra-judicial declarations against pecuniary or penal interests, where material, are admissible where the declarant is dead; beyond the jurisdiction of the court and the reach of its processes; is suffering from such infirmities of body or mind as to preclude his appearance as a witness, either by personal presence or by deposition; or where he is present in court and refuses to testify on the ground of self-incrimination. As a further condition of admissibility, it must be shown that the declarant was in a position to have knowledge of the facts forming the subject of his declaration; that no motive to misrepresent was present when the statement was made, and, in appropriate cases, that the party offering the declaration has made a good faith effort to secure his attendance.”

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

2. “"The contention that Chambers requires the admission of uncorroborated hearsay statements against penal interest has no validity, and has been rejected by many courts, federal and state." See Commonwealth v. Carr, supra . [2]”

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

3. “hearsay declarations against penal interests made by an unavailable declarant, to be admissible, must be proven trustworthy by independent corroborative evidence that bespeaks reliability.”

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