State v. Snell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““This Court has maintained a ‘strong policy against interfering with a trial justice’s discretion in sentencing matters,’ and, therefore, we only will interfere with that discretion ‘in rare instances when the trial justice has imposed a sentence that is without justification and is grossly disparate from other sentences generally imposed for similar offenses.’ ” Id. (quoting State v. Coleman, 984 A.2d 650, 654 (R.I.2009)).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Diefenderfer · State v.James Oliveira

2. “The motion is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial justice, who may grant it if he or she decides on reflection or on the basis of changed circumstances that the sentence originally imposed was, for any reason, unduly severe.”

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

3. “well within his discretion to give and then confirm the instant punishment for [defendant.]”

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