Mitchell v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “reason that nudges the will and prods the mind to indulge the criminal intent,”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mayhew v. State · People v. Cousins

2. “Given [the] evidentiary conflict [between the victim and Elliott] a finder of fact would be extremely interested in other information that might be available to help resolve the ultimate issue. Evidence of motive would be such information. One who is a paraphiliac, whose preference or addiction for unusual sexual practices occurs in the form of pedophilia, could well be recognized as having a motive to commit the acts complained of by the victim. The fact finder could infer from the acts complained of by the older sister that Elliott was so motivated. Such information would be helpful to any professional in determining whether Elliott was so afflicted. We conclude that on this basis the conduct described by the older sister in her testimony passes the test of relevancy under Rule 404(b), W.R.E., and was admissible for the purpose of proving the motive of the appellant.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Mayhew v. State · Winters v. State

3. “Of the five-factor analysis in Bishop v. State, 687 P.2d 242, 246 (Wyo.1984), appellant's appeal focuses on only two, viz., purpose and materiality. He contends that the prosecution's stated purposes of motive and identity were bogus in that motive is not an element of the crime charged and identity was not a disputed material issue. Our reading of the second-degree sexual assault statute and the information in this case reveals that this case, like the typical prosecution case, is reducible to three elements: (1) someone committed the criminal act (actus reus) alleged in the information, i.e., intrusion of the perpetrator's finger inside the victim's vagina; (2) the perpetrator possessed the requisite guilty state of mind (mens rea); i.e., for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or abuse; and (8) the perpetrator was the defendant (identity). See, EDWARD J. IMWINKELRIED, UNCHARGED MIS CONDUCT EVIDENCE $ 3.01 at 8 and § 4.01 at 2 (1992 & Supp.1998). In this particular prosecution, the accused pleaded not guilty, defending on the ground that the crime charged never happened. He asserted the victim had fabricated the allegations. He did not offer to stipulate to any of the three essential elements of the crime charged, such as the occurrence of the criminal act and the perpetrator's possession of the requisite guilty state of mind, while still disputing the identity element. By defending on the ground that the charged crime never happened, the accused necessarily put i”

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