942 So. 2d 308 - Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[U]nder the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the right to counsel attaches only at a “critical stage” in the proceedings against the accused. A critical stage arises at any confrontation in which the results might affect the course of the later trial and in which the presence of counsel might avert prejudice at trial. The right to counsel attaches earlier under Mississippi law than it does under the Sixth Amendment. In Mississippi, the right to counsel attaches once the proceedings reach an “accusatory stage.” An accusatory stage occurs when a warrant is issued or, when the offender is compelled to appear and answer for the offense, as well as by indictment or affidavit.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Deldrick Lamont Carroll v. State of Mississippi

2. “Furthermore, we disagree with Smith’s contention that in order for his BAC to be admissible, the State must prove what his BAC was at the time of the accident. The effect of such a ruling would be to virtually abrogate chapter 11 of the Mississippi Code, the implied consent laws. The repercussions of such a holding would warrant an exclusion from evidence of all blood[-]test results, obtained by virtue of a valid search warrant, based upon the assertion that the delay in acquiring the blood sample precludes the test results from assisting the jury in determining whether or not a defendant’s BAC exceeded the legally permissible minimum level at the time of the accident.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 146 So. 3d 1015 - Marlon Lavelle Oatis v. State of Mississippi

3. “Jochimsen [a state crime lab forensic toxicologist] explained that she applied the known value (Smith’s BAC at 1:00 a.m. on December 2, 2001) to a formula, using average values of human anatomy, physiology, alcohol absorption and elimination rates, and mathematical statistics, to estimate an unknown value (Smith’s BAC at the time of the accident, approximately 9:00 p.m. on December 1, 2001). This calculation formed the basis of her opinion that Smith’s BAC would have been higher at the time of the accident than it was at the time his blood was drawn.”

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