St. Clair v. Roark’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 35 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The court in which the petition is filed may, in its discretion, address the merits of the issue within the context of the petition for the writ, or may decline to do so on grounds that there is an adequate remedy by appeal. Neither approach is mandatory and the exercise of discretion may well depend on the significance of the issue as framed by the facts of the particular case.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Salinas v. Payne · Sneed v. Burress

2. “Kidnapping is a capital offense when the victim is not released alive or when the victim is released alive but subsequently dies as a result of: (a) Serious physical injuries suffered during the kidnapping; or (b) Not being released in a safe place; or (c) Being released in any circumstances which are intended, known or should have been known to cause or lead to the victim’s death.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. St. Clair v. Commonwealth

3. “the oft-repeated maxim that although a writ of prohibition will issue only in exceptional circumstances, whether to do so lies within the sound discretion of the court in which the writ is sought.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Peterson v. Shake