State v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

26 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 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““[Ejxception to improper remarks of counsel during the argument must be taken before verdict. [Citations omitted.] The rationale for this rule, which has been frequently quoted, ... is thus stated in Knight v. Houghtalling, 85 N.C. 17 : ‘A party cannot be allowed ... to speculate upon his chances for a verdict, and then complain because counsel were not arrested in their comments upon the case. Such exceptions, like those to the admission of incompetent evidence, must be made in apt time, or else be lost.’ We have modified this general rule in recent years so that it does not apply to death cases, when the argument of counsel is so prejudicial to the defendant that in this Court’s opinion, it is doubted that the prejudicial effect of such argument could have been removed from the jurors’ minds by any instruction the trial judge might have given.””

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