Bishop v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

60 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 60 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Too often we lose sight of the fact that the rule is primarily a rule of exclusion of evidence and not one of admission, and, although there are many exceptions, these do not detract from the general exclusionary approach which the rule demands. “Several facts have contributed to formulation of a cautious judicial attitude. “First, the accused is required to defend charges which are not described in the information or indictment. As a result he is required to defend past actions [for] which he may have in the past answered and with respect to which he may have even served his sentence. Thus, he is in effect tried as a recidivist though such a charge is not a part of the federal criminal code. “Secondly, although such evidence may have at least some relevance to the offense being tried, its predominant quality is to show up the defendant’s character as a car thief or a bad check artist, for example. Proof of defendant’s socio-pathic disposition is not a valid object. Showing that a man is generally bad has never been under our system allowable. The defendant has a right to be tried on the truth of the specific charge contained in the indictment. “Third, an obvious truth is that once prior convictions are introduced the trial is, for all practical purposes, completed and the guilty outcome follows as a mere formality. This is true regardless of the care and caution employed by the court in instructing the jury. “Thus, it is clear that the problem is not a simple evidentiary on”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Pena v. State

2. “Two concerns are expressed by the first sentence of Rule 404(b) in that (1) the jury may convict a “bad man” who deserves to be punished, not because of the crime charged, but because of prior or subsequent misdeeds, and (2) that the jury might infer that because the accused has committed other crimes, he probably also committed this crime. A defendant must be tried for what he did and not for who he is. United States v. Foskey, 636 F.2d 517 (D.C.Cir.1980). “Rules 403 and 404(b) are not obstacles to be cleared at all costs, even by cutting around corners whenever it is possible to do so. These rules were designed to ensure a defendant a fair and just trial based upon the evidence presented, not upon impermissible inferences of criminal predisposition or by confusion of the issues.” Id. at 525 . For other-acts evidence to be admissible, it must be relevant to an actual issue of the case tried. The probative value must not be outweighed by unfair prejudice. There is no presumption that other-crime evidence is relevant. United States v. DeVaughn, 601 F.2d 42 (2nd Cir.1979). See, United States v. Halper, 590 F.2d 422 (2nd Cir.1978). There must be a logical nexus between the crimes. United States v. Mann, 590 F.2d 361 (1st Cir.1978). The evidence must be offered for an issue that is ⅛ question. United States v. Ring, 513 F.2d 1001 (6th Cir.1975), 30 A.L.R.Fed. 860.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Pena v. State

3. ““ ‘It is a dangerous species of evidence, not only because it requires a defendant to meet and explain other acts than those charged against him and for which he is on trial, but also because it may lead the jury to violate the great principle, that a party is not to be convicted of one crime by proof that he is quilty of another.’ ” Gabrielson v. State, Wyo., 510 P.2d 534, 536 (1973) (quoting from Rosencrance v. State, 33 Wyo. 360 , 239 P. 952, 953 (1925)).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Schmunk v. State