880 So. 2d 730 - Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Second, the State failed to establish another critical threshold requirement of the recorded recollection exception because the State failed to show that the witnesses had an insufficient recollection of the events on the night of the shooting to enable them to testify fully and accurately. The recorded recollection exception requires that the witness have a present loss of memory concerning a matter about which the witness once had knowledge but now cannot adequately remember. Before the adoption of the evidence code, Florida decisions approving “past recollection recorded” evidence emphasized that the witness “had no present recollection” independent of the record. Presently, under section 90.808(5), a sufficient foundation may be shown if the witness merely “now has insufficient recollection to enable the witness to testify fully and accurately.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 116 So. 3d 270 - Polite v. State

2. “We believe that the typical situation contemplated by the code and the case law is one where the victim sees the assailant shortly after the criminal episode and says, "that's the man." Hence, the phrase "identification of a person made after perceiving him" refers to the witness seeing a person after the criminal episode and identifying that person as the offender. We do not believe this code provision was intended to allow other out-of-court statements by a witness to others naming the person that the witness believes committed the crime. To extend the rule that far would permit countless repetitions by a witness to others, regardless of time and place, of the witnesses' belief as to the guilty party, a result we do not believe intended by the drafters of the rule.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 938 So. 2d 451 - Ibar v. State

3. “First, the recanting witnesses did not testify that they had given the tape-recorded statements and that they accurately reflected their memory of events at the time they were made. Each of the recanting witnesses testified that they either did not remember giving a statement or that they had not given a statement at all. In order for a memorandum or record to qualify as recorded recollection, the witness must testify that he made an accurate record of the fact or event or that he is confident that the facts would not have been written unless they were true.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 116 So. 3d 270 - Polite v. State