Thompson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““By the common law, felonious homicide is the killing of any human being without justification or excuse. * * * It is divided into manslaughter and murder. When a party is charged in an indictment with the crime of murder, the felony actually committed is the same, whether it has all the elements of murder in the first or second degree, or whether it is wanting in the criterion of murder, and is therefore manslaughter only. The two lozuer degrees of felonious homicide are embraced in the charge of the higher offense, and a conviction of either of the three, or an acquittal under the charge properly made, is a bar to any other indictment for the same acts.” (Emphasis ours) 4”

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

2. ““It is sufficient in every indictment for murder to charge that the defendant did feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought kill and murder the deceased; and for manslaughter, to charge that the defendant did feloniously kill and slay the deceased without, in either case, setting forth the manner or means of death.””

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