State v. Murphy’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 district · 23 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Hullinger · 212 W. Va. 135 - State v. Dilliner

2. “The HGN test consists of three parts which measure various aspects of these involuntary movements which cause nystagmus. In the first part, the “smooth pursuit” test, the officer asks the defendant to first look straight ahead, focusing on an object, such as a pen, which the officer then moves back and forth horizontally. As the driver follows the path of the pen, the officer looks to see whether the eyes move smoothly from side to side, or whether they exhibit nystagmus, characterized by an unsteady, bouncing movement. In the second part, the “maximum deviation” test, the officer moves the pen horizontally to the limit of the driver’s field of vision, and watches the eyes for bouncing at the extremes. In the third part, the “forty-five degree” test, the officer again moves the object from side to side, asking the driver to follow the movement with his eyes. The officer watches for the onset of the nystagmus prior to a forty-five degree angle between the driver’s nose and the position of the object. The underlying theory is that there is a strong correlation between the degree of a person’s intoxication and the angle at which the person’s eyes begin to exhibit evidence of nystagmus.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hulse v. State, Department of Justice

3. “[T]he [nystagmus] test does differ fundamentally from other field sobriety tests because the witness must necessarily explain the underlying scientific basis of the test in order for the testimony to be meaningful to a jury. Other tests, in marked contrast, carry no such requirement. For example, if a police officer testifies that the defendant was unable to walk a straight line or stand on one foot or count backwards, a jury needs no further explanation of why such testimony is relevant to or probative on the issue of the defendant's condition. A juror can rely upon his or her personal experience or otherwise obtained knowledge of the effects of alcohol upon one's motor and mental skills to evaluate and weigh the officer's testimony. However, if a police officer testifies that the defendant exhibited nystagmus, that testimony has no significance to the average juror without an additional explanation of the scientific correlation between alcohol consumption and nystagmus. In effect, the juror must rely upon the specialized knowledge of the testifying witness and likely has no independent knowledge with which to evaluate the witness's testimony.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Townsend v. Dist. of Columbia