Floyd v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 2 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(c) Whether the evidence supports the finding of an aggravating circumstance or circumstances; (d) Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any arbitrary factor; and (e) Whether the sentence of death is excessive, considering both the crime and the defendant.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Weber v. State · Floyd v. Baker

2. “Early in the morning on June 3, 1999, Floyd telephoned an “outcall” service and asked that a young woman be dispatched to his apartment. As a result, a twenty-year-old woman came to Floyd’s apartment around 3:30 a.m. As soon as she arrived, Floyd threatened her with a shotgun and forced her to engage in vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, digital penetration, and fellatio. At one point he ejected a live shell from the gun, showed it to the woman, and said that her name was on it. Eventually Floyd put on Marine Corps camouflage clothing and said that he was going to go out and kill the first people that he saw. He told the woman that he had left his smaller gun in a friend’s vehicle or he could have shot her. Eventually he told her she had 60 seconds to run or be killed. The woman ran from the apartment, and around 5:00 a.m. Floyd took his shotgun and began to walk to an Albertson’s supermarket which was about fifteen minutes by foot from his apartment. Floyd arrived at the supermarket at about 5:15 a.m. The store’s security videotape showed that immediately after entering the store, he shot Thomas Michael Darnell in the back, killing him. After that, he shot and killed two more people, Carlos Chuck Leos and Dennis Troy Sargeant. Floyd then encountered Zachary T. Emenegger, who attempted to flee. Floyd chased him and shot him twice. Floyd then leaned over him and said, “Yeah, you’re dead,” but Emenegger survived. Floyd then went to .the rear of the store where he shot Lucil”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Floyd v. Baker

3. “The district court denied Floyd’s motion for a change of venue. He claims that this was error because jurors were biased by the extensive and prominent coverage of his case by the print and broadcast media in Las Vegas. The State does not dispute that the media coverage of the case was massive. It simply points out that Floyd presents no evidence that this coverage resulted in bias on the part of any juror. NRS 174.455(1) provides that a criminal action “may be removed from the court in which it is pending, on application of the defendant or state, on the ground that a fair and impartial trial cannot be had in the county where the indictment, information or complaint is pending.” Whether to change venue is within the sound discretion of the district court and will not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of discretion. [Footnote: Sonner v. State, 112 Nev. 1328, 1336 , 930 P.2d 707, 712 (1996), modified on rehearing on other grounds, 114 Nev. 321 , 955 P.2d 673 (1998).] A defendant seeking to change venue must not only present evidence of inflammatory pretrial publicity but must demonstrate actual bias on the part of the jury empaneled. Id. Even where pretrial publicity has been pervasive, this court has upheld the denial of motions for change of venue where the jurors assured the district court during voir dire that they would be fair and impartial in their deliberations. [Footnote: Id. at 1336, 930 P.2d at 712-13 ; see also Ford v. State, 102 Nev. 126, 129-32 , 717 P.2d 27, 29-”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Floyd v. Baker