Daniel v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Its intent is to avoid a demand that an accused defend acts of misconduct other than those charged in the indictment or information and to avoid potential confusion by members of the jury in addressing the issues of the case. The rule demands convictions are to be founded in those facts relevant to the crime or crimes charged. If the thrust of evidence of prior bad acts is only to demonstrate the defendant has a disposition to commit crimes, the evidence should be excluded.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Michael Scott Carroll, II v. State · Johnson v. State

2. “Both the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 1, § 10 of the Constitution of the State of Wyoming preserve the right to confront witnesses testifying against a defendant. The right is not without its limitations, however, and "[c]ourts recognize what might be called a hard-edged limit on impeachment by contradiction, drawn from common-law tradition and captured in the notion that contradiction on `collateral matters' is improper." 3 Christopher B. Mueller & Laird C. Kirkpatrick, Federal Evidence § 320 (2d ed.1994). Contradicting a witness, as Daniel attempted here, is a recognized method of impeachment by showing something the witness said is erroneous. The New York court defined the rule regarding impeachment on cross-examination of a witness, using collateral matters through extrinsic evidence, and had this to say: The general rule is that a cross-examiner cannot contradict a witness' answers concerning collateral matters by producing extrinsic evidence for the sole purpose of impeaching credibility. However, an exception to this rule exists where the evidence sought to be introduced is relevant to some issue in the case other than credibility or if independently admissible to impeach the witness. The reason for this exception to the collateral evidence rule is evident from the policy considerations underlying the general rule. The collateral evidence rule is said to rest upon auxiliary policy considerations of preventing undue confusion of i”

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

3. “Daniel's effort to impeach the doctor was contrary to the general rule because his cross-examination endeavored to contradict her answers relating to collateral matters by inquiring into extrinsic evidence for the sole purpose of impeaching credibility. This effort does not fit the exception to the rule because the evidence sought to be introduced was not relevant to some issue in the case other than credibility nor was it independently admissible to impeach the witness. There would have been the danger of causing undue confusion of issues, unfair surprise by extrinsic testimony, and little, if any, probative value.”

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