920 So. 2d 486 - Vandergriff v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “It is well settled that "a prosecuting attorney is disqualified from acting in a criminal case if he has previously represented or been consulted professionally by the accused with respect to the offense charged." Gray v. State , 469 So.2d 1252 , 1254 (Miss. 1985). "The subsequent prosecution of a criminal defendant by an attorney who has previously gained confidential information from the accused relative to the charges against him is inherently incompatible with the right of a criminal defendant to receive a fair trial." Id. However, no purpose would be served by applying the proscriptive rule to bar a prosecuting attorney's participation in a criminal case where the evidence fails to establish that the attorney, by reason of his professional relations with the accused, gained any confidential information regarding the matter involved in the criminal prosecution. Each case must therefore be examined on its facts in order to determine the nature of the attorney's prior relationship with the accused and the substance of any communications between the attorney and the accused. Id. , at 1255 (citing Dunn v. State , 264 So.2d 823 (Miss. 1972); Russell v. State , 185 Miss. 464 , 189 So. 90 (1939)). The question to be determined, then, is whether the trial court was clearly erroneous in its finding that no confidential information was transmitted . . .”

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