State v. Ray’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(a)(1) Character of the Accused. — Evidence of a pertinent character trait offered by the accused or by the prosecution to rebut the same. (2) Character of Victim. — Evidence of a pertinent character trait of the victim of crime offered by an accused or by the prosecution to rebut the same, or evidence of a character trait of peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution in a homicide case to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor. (b) Other Crimes, Wrongs, or Acts.— Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity with the character trait. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes. The conditions which must be satisfied before allowing such evidence are: (1) The court upon request must hold a hearing outside the jury’s presence; (2) The court must determine that a material issue 3 exists other than conduct conforming with a character trait and must upon request state on the record the material issue, the ruling, and the reasons for admitting the evidence; and (3) The court must exclude the evidence if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.”

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

2. “While such evidence is generally admissible under Rule 404(a)(2), Rule 405(a) governs the methods of proving character in this situation, and requires that proof be in the form of opinion or reputation evidence. Rule 405(a) limits proof of specific instances of conduct to cross-examination.”

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