857 So. 2d 702 - King v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

61 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 62 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[This Court] must accept as true the evidence which supports the verdict and will reverse only when convinced that the circuit court has abused its discretion in failing to grant a new trial. A new trial will not be ordered unless the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction unconscionable injustice.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Valmain v. State · Price v. State

2. “In Mitchell v. State, 539 So.2d 1366 (Miss.1989), this Court rejected the argument that evidence of a defendant's prior sexual misbehavior with other children is admissible during the State's case-in-chief to show "the system of criminal action and lustful disposition of [the defendant] toward children." Mitchell, 539 So.2d at 1372 . This Court held that to allow "testimony that shows a defendant's character of lustful behavior toward children in general, not just [toward the victim at issue]," would "not be consistent with the purpose of M.R.E. 404(b)." Id. This Court concluded that under Rule 404(b) "evidence of other sexual relations [should be limited] to those between the defendant and the particular victim [at issue]." Id. This Court explained that to admit evidence of prior bad acts involving victims other than the one for whom the defendant was on trial would be "[i]nconsistent with the notion that a defendant is on trial for a specific crime and not for generally being a bad person." Id. Accordingly, Mitchell requires an identity of victims in sexual abuse cases, i.e., the prior bad act sought to be admitted must have been committed upon the same victim that the defendant is currently on trial for having allegedly harmed. Consequently, if the evidence of prior bad acts concerns acts committed upon victims other than the one involved in the instant case, the prior bad acts evidence is inadmissible on direct under our rules of evidence. See Elmore v. State, 510 So.2d 1”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 965 So. 2d 1072 - Vaden v. State · 952 So. 2d 206 - Lattimer v. State

3. “Issues cannot be decided based on assertions from the briefs alone. The issues must be supported and proved by the record.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 962 So. 2d 649 - Jackson v. State · 931 So. 2d 1289 - Younger v. State