Reyes v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The DeGarmo waiver doctrine referred to in McGlothlin is causal, not temporal, in nature. When a defendant admits his guilt at the punishment phase of the trial, he does not waive all error committed during the guilt/innocence phase; he waives all error that could arguably have caused the rendition of an improper verdict [of guilt]. While an error affecting the guilty verdict must logically precede that verdict, it is not the time the error occurs that brings it within the DeGarmo doctrine. Rather, the doctrine applies to errors committed in attaining that verdict. Under the DeGarmo doctrine, such errors are waived not because they were committed during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, but because the issue of defendant’s guilt or innocence has been mooted by his judicial confession. “The prejudicial impact of an error committed during guilt/innocence may extend into the punishment phase of a trial. If, for example, inadmissible evidence is introduced over a defendant’s objection during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, and the evidence would unfairly prejudice the jury’s assessment of punishment, the defendant’s subsequent admission of guilt does not waive the ‘punishment error’ merely because the error was committed during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial. “Here, the error occurred during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, but its effect extends to both stages of appellant’s bifurcated trial. While I agree that whatever detrimental effect the error ”

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