Cheatham v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 13 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““It is believed that no court, state or federal, has held that it is reversible error to refuse to caution the jury to scrutinize with care the testimony of an accomplice. In Cheatham v. State, 67 Miss. 335 , 7 So. 204 , 19 Am.St.Rep. 310 , the court said: ‘The suspicion with which- the testimony of accomplices is received by the courts, and their unwillingness to sustain convictions resting wholly upon the uncorroborated evidence of such persons, has led to the very general practice of advising juries to act with great prudence and suspicion upon such evidence, and to acquit unless there is corroboration in material particulars. But our researches have failed to discover a case in which a conviction has been set aside by reason of the court refusing so to instruct or advise.’ ””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Diggs v. United States · Hanks v. United States

2. ““Tbe practice of giving sucb instructions or advice to the jury rests in the discretion of the presiding judge, and bis refusal so to do is not assignable as error.” “No one,” said tbe court, “can require of tbe judge to give an instruction to tbe jury, except on tbe law of tbe ease. Tbe judge may caution them against reposing hasty confidence in tbe testimony of an accomplice. It is usual, justifiable, and, we add, it is proper, to do so, where be bas cause to apprehend that the jury may feel .themselves bound to find a verdict conforming to tbe positive testimony of tbe witness, without weighing tbe circumstances of suspicion and distrust under wbicb his testimony is rendered.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Diggs v. United States

3. ““The trial as surveyed from its conclusion instead of its commencement, impresses us, as it did the court below, as being entirely free from any bias against appellant.””

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