State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A defendant does not have an absolute right to withdraw his [or her] guilty plea, and a motion for withdrawal of a guilty plea under the ... rule must therefore be determined under either of two established principles. Where the request is made after sentence has been imposed, the “manifest injustice” standard is to be applied. But where the motion is presented to the trial court before the imposition of sentence, a more liberal approach is to be taken, and the motion should be granted if the defendant has presented a fair and just reason for his request and the [prosecution] has not relied upon the guilty plea to its substantial prejudice.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Pedro · State v. Merino

2. “a searching inquiry addressed to the defendant personally, to ensure the defendant's complete understanding of the finality of his guilty plea if accepted, should be conducted by the trial court before accepting the plea. Only then, and only after satisfying itself that there is a strong factual basis for the plea, ought the trial court accept the plea.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Merino · State v. Topasna

3. “the trial court's determination will not be disturbed on appeal unless abuse of discretion is clearly shown.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Pedro