907 So. 2d 292 - Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 9 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The Court instructs you that the testimony of an admitted accomplice should be viewed by you with great care, caution and suspicion and you should give it such weight and credit as you deem it is entitled.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 241 So. 3d 599 - Tony Swinney v. State of Mississippi · 962 So. 2d 649 - Jackson v. State

2. “Additionally, proposed jury instruction D-1 states that an accomplice's testimony must " always be examined and weighed by the jury with greater care and caution than the testimony of ordinary witnesses." This is an incorrect statement of the law. We take this opportunity to clarify that when an accomplice instruction is required, the trial court (as was done in this case) must inform the jury that an accomplice's testimony which is uncorroborated by other evidence must be viewed with great caution and suspicion. Black v. State, 336 So.2d 1302 , 1303 (Miss.1976) (citing Hutchins v. State, 220 So.2d 276 (Miss. 1969); Cole v. State, 217 Miss. 779 , 65 So.2d 262 (1953)). See also Brown v. State, 890 So.2d 901, 910-911 (Miss. 2004); Ellis v. State, 790 So.2d 813, 816 (Miss.2001) (Uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice may be sufficient to convict an accused but a cautionary instruction is warranted where the testimony is unreasonable, self contradictory or substantially impeached.) (quoting Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1253 (Miss.1995)). The testimony of an accomplice is not required to be viewed with great caution and suspicion just because he is an accomplice, but instead it is only that portion of an accomplice's testimony which is uncorroborated by other evidence which is viewed with great caution and suspicion. The jury instruction given by the trial court properly stated that if the jury found the testimony of the alleged accomplice to be uncorroborated by other e”

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

3. “A motion for a directed verdict and a motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. When reviewing a case for sufficiency of the evidence, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence must show beyond a reasonable doubt that [the] accused committed the act charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed; and where the evidence fails to meet this test it is insufficient to support a conviction. If, keeping in mind the reasonable-doubt standard, reasonable and fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions on every element of the offense, the evidence will be deemed to have been sufficient.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 21 So. 3d 633 - Mitchell v. State