Merrill v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 36 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 40 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The sentencing court in the instant case should have made a more complete record by advising petitioner of his privilege against self-incrimination. We hold that the court’s failure to do so will not vitiate the plea where the postconviction proceedings clearly show that the petitioner was aware of his constitutional rights and that he understood those rights at the time he entered his guilty plea. Such a finding will support the ultimate finding that petitioner’s guilty plea was in fact voluntarily and intelligently entered.” (Emphasis added.)”

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

2. ““There is, however, a growing body of authority for the proposition that Boykin does not require the record to show an express enumeration by the court nor an express waiver by the defendant of the constitutional rights mentioned in Boykin as a condition precedent to a voluntary and intelligent guilty plea.””

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