Zani v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

34 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 35 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the level of training in the clinical uses and forensic applications of hypnosis by the person performing the hypnosis; the hypnotist’s independence from law enforcement investigators, prosecution, and defense; the existence of a record of any information given or known by the hypnotist concerning the case prior to the hypnosis session; the existence of a written or recorded account of the facts as the hypnosis subject remembers them prior to undergoing hypnosis; the creation of recordings of all contacts between the hypnotist and the subject; the presence of persons other than the hypnotist and the subject during any phase of the hypnosis session, as well as the location of the session; the appropriateness of the induction and memory retrieval techniques used; the appropriateness of using hypnosis for the kind of memory loss involved; and the existence of any evidence to corroborate the hypnotically-enhanced testimony.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. State v. Medrano · Tumlinson v. State

2. “[i]f, after consideration of the totality of the circumstances, the trial court should find by clear and convincing evidence that the hypnosis neither rendered the witnesses’ posthypnotic memory untrustworthy nor substantially impaired the ability of the opponent fairly to test the witness’s recall by cross examination, he may admit the testimony.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Horst v. State · Spence v. State

3. ““First, a psychiatrist or psychologist experienced in the use of hypnosis must conduct the session. This professional should also be able to qualify as an expert in order to aid the court in evaluating the procedures followed. Although we recognize that there are many other people trained to administer hypnosis and skilled in its use for investigative purposes, we believe that a professional must administer hypnosis if the testimony revealed is to be used in a criminal trial. In this way, the court will be able to obtain vital information concerning the pathological reason for memory loss and the hypnotizability of the witness. Furthermore, the expert will be able to conduct the interrogation in a manner most likely to yield accurate recall. “Second, the professional conducting the hypnotic session should be independent of and not regularly employed by the prosecutor, investigator or defense. [Of course, the hypnotist may collect a fee from the party who engaged his services.] This condition will safeguard against any bias on the part of the hypnotist that might translate into leading questions, unintentional cues, or other suggestive conduct. “Third, any information given to the hypnotist by law enforcement personnel or the defense prior to the hypnotic session must be recorded, either in writing or another suitable form. This requirement will help the court determine the extent of information the hypnotist could have communicated to the witness either directly or through su”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. State v. Butterworth