State v. Cokes’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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. “"The state here argues that appellant's counsel by inquiring of the jury panel on voir dire as to whether a member of the panel would hold it against appellant if he chose to exercise the right not to testify, or if thereby a member would think that he was holding something back, or if a member would follow an instruction on that subject, waived the right to have no comment thereafter on his failure to testify. Apparently, the state's argument is that appellant initially opened up the subject himself. It seems clear that appellant was entitled to have selected a fair and impartial jury, and therefore would be entitled to inquire at that point, on voir dire, whether any panel member would be prejudiced by appellant's failure to testify, or whether they would follow an instruction of the court on the subject. To have empaneled a fair and impartial jury was appellant's first right, or conjunctively to that was his right to have no adverse presumption or inference drawn by the jury by his failure to testify. He was entitled to both rights so as to reduce a possible jury reaction to lessen the state's burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because of his failure to testify. There was no waiver of comment upon appellant's failure to testify by reason of his voir dire examination."”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Clement · State v. Hohensee

2. “MS. BURNETT [STATE’S ATTORNEY] There is a lot of talk about the rights of the defendant. The defendant has the right not to testify.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Ward · 824 So. 2d 1 - Thomas v. State

3. ““The key words of the rule and statute are ‘accused’ and ‘testify,’ and the test is whether the jury’s attention was called to the accused’s failure to testify. [Citations omitted.] The cases consistently require for reversal of a conviction that there be a direct, nonambiguous and unequivocal prosecutorial comment on the failure of the defendant to become a witness.””

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