Dizon v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “At the evidentiary hearing Dizon’s trial attorney testified that he had talked with Dizon regarding what his testimony would be if he testified at trial. He testified that he could not definitively say that he had advised Dizon that he had a right to testify. After the State rested, trial counsel met with Dizon in a holding cell and discussed Dizon’s family and military record and what he would testify to if put on the stand. Trial counsel stated: And then, I think we just probably left it up in the air or either he decided that he was going to testify. I’m not sure which it was. But we came back up here and began trial again. And I leaned over to him and I said, Well, are you ready to do this? And he said no. So, I assumed from that, he’d changed his mind about testifying or made up his mind about whether he was going to testify or not. And so we rested at that point. Trial counsel testified he had no doubt that Dizon had voluntarily waived his right to testify at the trial at the time the defense rested ....[, although] he could not say with certainty that he ever advised Dizon of his right to testify. [[Image here]] Dizon definitively testified that he was never informed of his right to testify by trial counsel [and] that he spoke with his trial counsel a couple of times before trial and repeatedly told him that he wanted to testify.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 171 So. 3d 566 - Dennis Darnell Howard v. State of Mississippi

2. “The judge was put on notice that Dizon wanted to testify. During opening statements, trial counsel told the jury that Dizon was not going to get on the witness stand and deny what happened. In fact, he would testify about what did actually happen when [the victim] was beaten. [[Image here]] Trial counsel stated during opening statements that Dizon would testify. This in itself should have been enough to trigger an inquiry by the judge as to whether or not it had been explained to Dizon that he had a constitutional right to testify and whether or not he had waived that right.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 171 So. 3d 566 - Dennis Darnell Howard v. State of Mississippi

3. “We suggest to the trial judges of the state that, in any case where a defendant does not testify, before the case is submitted to the jury, the defendant should be called before the court out of the presence of the jury, and advised of his right to testify. If the defendant states he does not wish to testify, he may not be forced to take the stand; however, if he states that he wants to testify he should be permitted to do so. A record should be made of this so that no question about defendant’s waiver of his right to testify should ever arise in the future.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 171 So. 3d 566 - Dennis Darnell Howard v. State of Mississippi