People v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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. “Just why this and similar warnings by this court have not been observed by prosecuting officers and trial courts, we are at a loss to understand”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. People v. Green · 23 Cal. 2d 670 - People v. Kolez

2. “In our opinion, the trial court should never instruct the jury as to how the discretion should be exercised. ... While we are satisfied that the giving of such instructions is opposed to the provisions of section 190 of the Penal Code, we are not prepared to depart from the decisions on this point. ... We have, however, gone into the subject in the hope, if not the expectation, that the practice of giving such instructions may be abated, thus giving assurance that the penalty reflects the decision of the jury alone. ... And considering the number of times this court has held that section 190 confers on the jury alone the discretion of determining the punishment in cases of guilt of murder in the first degree, trial courts, especially where a human life is at stake, should not interfere with the discharge of that solemn duty by the jury.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 23 Cal. 2d 670 - People v. Kolez