Johnson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “For a hearsay statement to be admitted as an excited utterance, three elements must be shown: 1) a startling event occurs; 2) a statement is made by declarant while under the stress of excitement caused by the event; and 3) the statement relates to the event.... Application of these criteria is not mechanical. Rather, under Rule 803(2), like its predecessor common-law doctrine, the heart of the inquiry is whether the statement is inherently reliable because the declarant was incapable of thoughtful reflection.... The statement must be trustworthy under the facts of the particular case. The trial court should focus on whether the statement was made while the declarant was under the influence of the excitement engendered by the startling event.”

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

2. “A recording is not admissible unless the voices contained thereon are identified. ... However, circumstantial evidence may be utilized for identification purposes.”

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