951 So. 2d 784 - Hildwin v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “What’s interesting about that is that on these panties that were found — these panties were found in the car on top of the laundry, Sergeant Haygood testified to, not in the laundry, on top of the laundry. These panties contained se men that is consistent with the non-secretor 11 percent of the white male population, consistent with the defendant in this case and not consistent with Bill Haverty. This wash rag had saliva from a non-secretor consistent with Paul Hildwin, the defendant, not consistent with Bill Haverty. And before we go any further, remember the statement that the defendant made to Investigator Phifer that after — after Vronzettie Cox was choked to death, the man that did it wiped his face with a white rag. Now, these two pieces of evidence, ladies and gentlemen, I’m not asking you in any way, shape, or form to convict the defendant, Paul Hildwin, based on those panties and that wash rag. What I am telling you is that it is one more block. It is one more piece of evidence that leads to Paul Hildwin, and it is one more piece of evidence that eliminates Bill Haverty. While that 11 percent of the population are non-secretors, remember it would have to be a non-secretor like the defendant in the same place at the same time with the same opportunity to be the same because it makes those odds look high for someone other than the defendant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 141 So. 3d 1178 - Paul Christopher Hildwin v. State of Florida

2. “Although Haverty had an alibi, it was not ironclad. The alibi witness, George Weeks, testified that Haverty was present at home when Weeks came to mow the lawn on what could have been the morning of Cox’s disappearance. However, Weeks’ testimony did not match Haverty’s as to the day that Weeks mowed the lawn. Weeks testified that he saw Haverty on Monday or Tuesday after the weekend that Haverty and Cox moved into the trailer, which would have been September 2nd (Labor Day) or 3rd, 1985. Haverty testified Weeks actually mowed the lawn a week later, September 9th, the day of Cox’s disappearance. Clearly, one of the men was incorrect. Further, in postconviction proceedings in 1992, an envelope with writings by Haverty found in the home he shared with Cox came to light. This piece of evidence is relevant to an analysis of the cumulative effect of newly discovered evidence. Among other messages, Haverty wrote to the victim “If you don’t want to be here, leave,” and “Fuck off and die.” The envelope could have been used to impeach Haverty’s testimony that he and Cox “got along real good” at the time of her disappearance.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 141 So. 3d 1178 - Paul Christopher Hildwin v. State of Florida

3. “[Police] found a bag of dirty laundry in the car .... Finally taken from that laundry bag was a pair of women’s [shorts] sitting on top of the laundry bag, a pair of women’s panties and a wash rag. Now on those women’s panties was some semen and it has the same blood characteristics that the defendant has. And there will be an expert from the FBI to testify to you about that. On the wash rag there are characteristics of human sweat that is consistent with this defendant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 141 So. 3d 1178 - Paul Christopher Hildwin v. State of Florida