Keller v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

31 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 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In Westbrook v. State, 658 So.2d 847, 849 (Miss. 1995), this Court found that photographs of á victim have evidentiary value when they aid in describing the circumstances of the killing, Williams v. State, 354 So.2d 266 (Miss. 1978); describe the location of the body and cause of death, Ashley v. State, 423 So.2d 1311 (Miss. 1982); or supplement or clarify witness testimony, Hughes v. State, 401 So.2d 1100 (Miss. 1981).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Welford Lee McCarty v. State of Mississippi · Hutto v. State

2. “Each individual juror must decide for themselves whether the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole or probation is an appropriate punishment for the defendant. Even if mitigating circumstances do not outweigh aggravating circumstances, the law permits you, the jury to impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Only if you, the jurors, unanimously agree beyond a reasonable doubt that death is the appropriate punishment may you impose a sentence of death....”

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

3. “In general, voir dire is presumed sufficient to ensure a fair and impartial jury. To overcome the presumption, a party must present evidence indicating that the jury was not fair and was partial and must show that that prejudice resulted from the circuit court's handling of voir dire. Voir dire is conducted under the supervision of the court, and a great deal must, of necessity, be left to [the court's] sound discretion.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 237 So. 3d 778 - William Mack, Jr. v. State of Mississippi