State v. Roe’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a defendant must prove that the error resulted in manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice. Although there is no precise formula for determining the existence of plain error, our Supreme Court has offered some guidance on the issue. “In the context of instructional error, plain error results when the trial court has so misdirected or failed to instruct the jury that it is apparent to the appellate court that the instructional error affected the jury’s verdict.” In determining whether the misdirection likely affected the jury’s verdict, an appellate court will be more inclined to reverse in cases where the erroneous instruction “did not merely allow a wrong word or some other ambiguity to exist, [but] excused the State from its burden of proof on [a] contested element of the crime.” Additionally, this court has previously held that where a verdict director effectively omits an essential el ement of the offense, such an instruction rises to the level of plain error if the evidence in the case fails to establish the existence of the omitted element “beyond serious dispute.””

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

2. “As to [Counts 1, 3, 7, and 9] if you find and believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt: First, that on or about [date], in the County of St. Louis, State of Missouri, the defendant [describe acts constituting deviate sexual intercourse] with [J.L.], and...”

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