United States v. Sanchez’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

42 federal appellate · 2 district · 21 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 88 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the likelihood that the trial could soon take place with the defendant present; the difficulty of rescheduling, particularly in multiple-defendant trials; the burden on the Government in having to undertake two trials, again particularly in multiple-defendant trials where the evidence against the defendants is often overlapping and more than one trial might keep the Government’s witnesses in substantial jeopardy.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Fontanez · United States v. Nichols

2. ““[H]ere, there is no evidence that Sanchez made any effort to communicate with or otherwise cooperate with his attorney. There is no evidence that Sanchez consulted his attorney regarding his decision not to attend the trial, and not to be available during the weeks preceding trial. Where an attorney is confronted with such a client, whose un-cooperativeness precludes any reasonable basis for an active defense, the strategy of silence — perhaps in hopes that the government will produce insufficient evidence or that the government or court will commit reversible error — may actually constitute a [reasonable] defense strategy. Certainly the right to counsel does not impose upon a defense attorney a duty unilaterally to investigate and find evidence, or to pursue a fishing expedition by cross-examination, or to present opening or closing remarks on the basis of no helpful information, or to object without purpose, on behalf of an uncooperative and unavailable client. [[Image here]] “Sanchez attempts to distinguish his case from cases following the Strickland two-part analysis by arguing that in effect he had no counsel at all. We find this argument unpersuasive. Certainly Sanchez may not by his absence effectively force his attorney into a strategy of silence and then complain that he was denied counsel. [[Image here]] “[W]here, as here, the defendant by his own obstructive conduct precludes his counsel from pursuing an intelligent active defense, the concerns of [United States ”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Walker v. State · Cannon v. State

3. ““It is enough that, in a case with more than one defendant, Sanchez waived his right to be present by failing to appear without explanation and while on bail; that some reasonable steps, including a one-day continuation with notification to his attorney and this issuance of a bench warrant, were taken unsuccessfully in response to his non-appearance; that there was no reason to believe that the trial could likely soon be held with Sanchez present; and that severance would impose on the Government the burden of prosecuting two separate trials that would involve substantially the same evidence.” 790 F.2d at 251 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 16 Kan. App. 2d 54 - State v. Galloway