Carson v. Collins’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]his conclusion is supported by comparing the purposes of confrontation with the alleged dangers in admitting an out-of-court statement. Confrontation: (1) insures that the witness will give his statements under oath — thus impressing him with the seriousness of the matter and guarding against the lie by the possibility of a penalty for perjury; (2) forces the witness to submit to cross-examination, the “greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth”; (3) permits the jury that is to decide the defendant’s fate to observe the demeanor of the witness in making his statement, thus aiding the jury in assessing his credibility. It is, of course, true that the out-of-court statement may have been made under circumstances subject to none of these projections. But if the declarant is present and testifying at trial, the out-of-court statement for all practical purposes regains most of the lost protections.... [A]s far as the oath is concerned, the witness must now affirm, deny, or qualify the truth of the prior statement under the penalty of perjuryL] Second, the inability to cross-examine the witness at the time he made his prior statement cannot easily be shown to be of crucial significance as long as the defendant is assured of full and effective cross-examination at the time of trial.... [Finally, t]he witness who now relates a ... story about the events in question must necessarily assume a position as to the truth value of his prior statement, thus giving the”

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

2. “The Supreme Court has noted that introduction of out-of-court statements, even if unreliable, does not violate the confrontation clause where the declarant testified at trial subject to full and effective cross-examination. In the instant case, Carlette testified at trial about her charges against Carson and was subjected to full and effective cross-examination. Carson had full and unrestricted opportunity to test before the jury both Carlette's allegations of sexual abuse and the circumstances under which she made her videotaped statement, with the benefit of both the oath and of face-to-face confrontation. The confrontation clause requires no more.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 671 So. 2d 581 - Walker v. State