Ballard v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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. “Generally, evidence of prior bad acts or crimes is relevant to prove a material fact at issue if the evidence is not being admitted solely to prove bad character or propensity. See § 90.404(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2003). However, for such evidence to be admissible, its prejudicial effect must not outweigh its probative value. § 90.403, Fla. Stat. (2003); Turtle v. State, 600 So.2d 1214, 1218 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Here, the trial court permitted the state to make the collateral crime evidence a feature of the trial by presenting testimony regarding the evidence from four of its six witnesses; by publishing photographs of injuries allegedly sustained as a result of the alleged prior abuse; and by emphasizing the evidence in both its opening statement and its closing arguments. This was error because, by becoming a feature of the trial, the prejudicial effect of the evidence outweighed its probative value. We have considered, but reject, the state’s argument that any error was harmless. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1139 (Fla.1986) (for error to be harmless, the state must satisfy the reviewing court to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt that the error did not affect the verdict); Goodwin v. State, 751 So.2d 537 (Fla.1999) (reaffirming that the DiGuilio test applies in criminal appeals to both constitutional and non-constitutional error).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 785 F. Supp. 2d 1299 - Ballard v. McNeil