State v. Pearson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““the rule sought by defendant would have a serious and perhaps devastating effect on the use of plea bargaining as a device to accomplish ... legitimate purposes. If the prosecutor must bargain with a defendant whose responses are framed "with an eye toward their self-serving use at trial, we see little profit to be anticipated from their discussions, and little incentive to begin the process. The essence of plea bargaining is obviously negotiation, and a precondition of successful negotiations is an assurance of confidentiality which will encourage the candid give-and-take essential to reaching an agreeable compromise. Destroy confidentiality, and negotiators tend to make speeches and assume postures, tendencies inherently inimical to compromise.””

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

2. “Because the trial court is in the best position to determine the possible juror bias that may have resulted from defense counsel’s question and the likelihood of removing the bias through a cautionary instruction, that finding is entitled to deference by this court. Inasmuch as the trial court had an articulable basis for declaring a mistrial, we conclude that it did not abuse its discretion in so doing. The judge weighed the expense a new trial would demand, but determined that a mistrial must be declared in that case.”

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

3. “[w]hen ordering a mistrial, the trial court . must support its ruling by showing that legal necessity required the mistrial in the interests of justice. “The doctrine of legal necessity means that absent the consent of the defendant to a mistrial, the court must refrain from [declaring a mistrial] unless it determines, after careful inquiry, that [declaring a mistrial] is the only reasonable alternative to insure justice under the circumstances.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. West Valley City v. Patten