Johnson v. State’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. “The right to a speedy trial is generieally different from any of the other rights enshrined in the Constitution for the protection of the accused. In addition to the general concern that all accused persons be treated according to decent and fair procedures, there is a societal interest in providing a speedy trial which exists separate from, and at times in opposition to, the interests of the accused. The inability of courts to provide a prompt trial has contributed to a large backlog of cases in urban courts which, among other things, enables defendants to negotiate more effectively for pleas of guilty to lesser offenses and otherwise manipulate the system. In addition, persons released on bond for lengthy periods awaiting trial have an opportunity to commit other crimes. It must be of little comfort to the residents of Christian County, Kentucky, to know that Barker was at large on bail for over four years while accused of a vicious and brutal murder of which he was ultimately convicted. Moreover, the longer an accused is free awaiting trial, the more tempting becomes his opportunity to jump bail and escape. Finally, delay between arrest and punishment may have a detrimental effect on rehabilitation. If an accused cannot make bail, he is generally confined, as was Barker for 10 months, in a local jail. This contributes to the overcrowding and generally deplorable state of those institutions. Lengthy exposure to these conditions ‘has a destructive effect on human character a”

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

2. “[W]e bear in mind that speedy trial is not an individual right of the defendant alone, but is also a right possessed by society as a whole. We must give deference to the “social interests in providing a speedy trial which exists separate from, and in times in opposition to, the interests of the accused.” See Ramirez [v. State], 897 S.W.2d [428] at 437[(Tex.App.—El Paso 1995)] (J. Chew, dissenting) ... The accused has a right to speedy trial, but so does the community; the community’s interest is not dependent upon an assertion of the right by a defendant. For that reason, we do not necessarily weigh this factor in favor of the State, even where defendant has not stridently and repeatedly asserted her individual right to speedy trial. (emphasis added). Johnson, 925 S.W.2d at 354.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Johnson v. State