State v. Singleton’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[I]f an offense does not involve engaging in a sexual act through the use of force or threat of serious violence, the offense can only be found to be an “aggravated offense” if it involves engaging in sexual acts involving penetration “with a victim who is less than 12 years old.” However, felonious child abuse by the commission of any sexual act provides that the victim must be “a child less than 16 years of age.” Since “a child less than 16 years" is not necessarily also “less than 12 years old, ” without looking at the underlying facts, a trial court could not conclude that a person convicted of felonious child abuse by the commission of any sexual act committed that offense against a child less than 12 years old. Therefore, in light of our review of the plain language of the statutes at issue, we must conclude that the trial court erred when it determined that defendant’s conviction offense of felonious child abuse by the commission of any sexual act under N.C.G.S. § 14-318.4(a2) is an “aggravated offense” as defined under N.C.G.S. § 14-208.6(la) because, when considering the ele ments of the offense only and not the underlying factual scenario giving rise to this defendant’s conviction, the elements of felonious child abuse by the commission of any sexual act do not “fit within” the statutory definition of “aggravated offense.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 226 N.C. App. 311 - State v. Arrington · 208 N.C. App. 286 - State v. Treadway

2. “This Court stated the standard of review for orders as to [satellite-based monitoring] in State v. Kilby: “[w]e review the trial court’s findings of fact to determine whether they are supported by competent record evidence, and we review the trial court’s conclusions of law for legal accuracy and to ensure that those conclusions reflect a correct application of law' to the facts found.”-N.C. App.-,-, 679 S.E.2d 430, 432 (2009) (quoting State v. Garcia, 358 N.C. 382, 391 , 597 S.E.2d 724, 733 (2004) (citation, quotation marks, and brackets omitted), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1156 , 125 S. Ct. 1301 , 161 L. Ed. 2d 122 (2005)).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Sims · 210 N.C. App. 609 - State v. Oliver

3. “[i]f the court finds that the offender committed an offense that involved the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a minor, that the offense is not an aggravated offense or a violation of G.S. 14-27.2A or G.S. 14-27.4A, and the offender is not a recidivist, the court shall order that the Department do a risk assessment of the offender. The Department shall have a minimum of 30 days, but not more than 60 days, to complete the risk assessment of the offender and report the results to the court. The Department may use a risk assessment of the offender done within six months of the date of the hearing. Upon receipt of a risk assessment from the Department, the court shall determine whether, based on the Department’s risk assessment, the offender requires the highest possible level of supervision and monitoring. If the court determines that the offender does require the highest possible level of supervision and monitoring, the court shall order the offender to enroll in a satellite-based monitoring program for a period of time to be specified by the court.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 204 N.C. App. 198 - State v. King