Jones v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““This instruction is specially criticized on account of the use of the word ‘because’ instead of ‘before’ in the sentence reading, ‘You should not hesitate to find him guilty because you are able to say, outside of the evidence, that he might have been innocent’; the contention of counsel for appellant being that this sentence precludes the jury from considering any doubts which may arise from a lack of evidence. It is difficult to understand the exact meaning of the instruction as given, and it should properly have been refused; but in view of the many skillfully drawn and exceedingly liberal instructions granted the defendant, covering repeatedly every element of proof required for conviction, we do not think this instruction could possibly have misled the jury as to the quantity of evidence or degree of proof required for conviction, and we have reached the conclusion that it does not constitute reversible error.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bourne v. State