State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis
1991
Citation profile
35 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 35 later decisions — most recently August 2018 · most notably Besel v. Viking Ins. Co. of Wisconsin (2002), State v. Maestas (2002)
35 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on North Carolina v. Alford · McCarthy v. United States · State v. Rimmasch · State v. Gibbons · State v. Hansen
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.
“It is critical, however, that strict Rule 11 compliance be demonstrated on the record at the time the ... plea is entered. Therefore, if an affidavit is used to aid Rule 11 compliance, it must be addressed during the plea hearing. The trial court must conduct an inquiry to establish that the defendant understands the affidavit and voluntarily signed it.... Any omissions or ambiguities in the affidavit must be clarified during the plea hearing, as must any uncertainties raised in the course of the plea colloquy. Then the affidavit itself, signed by the required parties, can be incorporated into the record. The efficiency-promoting function of the affidavit is thereby served, in that the court need not repeat, verbatim, Rule 11 inquiries that are clearly posed and answered in the affidavit, unless Rule 11 by its terms specifically requires such repetition.”
7 later decisions quote this exact passagee.g. State v. Maguire · State v. Visser“There is nothing sacrosanct about an exchange between a trial judge and a criminal defendant at the time of taking a guilty plea. A guilty plea is most often received in a crowded courtroom with the defendant, often in shackles, looking up at a judge who, in black robe, peers down from an elevated bench. The judge questions the defendant while everyone in the courtroom watches and waits. Silence in such environment can be deafening, and the pressure immense. The situation impels the defendant to immediately answer the judge’s questions. However, where an affidavit is used, the defendant has privacy and time to prepare, review, and discuss the affidavit with his lawyer. No one is watching and waiting. There are no time limitations. The defendant has the opportunity to ask his lawyer the meaning of certain words and phrases. Consequently, there is more assurance of a knowing and voluntary plea when an affidavit is utilized than when it is not. Of course, the trial judge must still be satisfied, by personal inquiry of the defendant, that the defendant actually read the affidavit, reviewed it with counsel, and understands it.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. State v. Dastrup“A defendant who is a college graduate and who informs the judge that he has read his affidavit, discussed it with his attorney, and understands it will naturally not require the kind of inquiry as will a defendant who has no education and little or no grasp of the English language.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. State v. Dastrup
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.