Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The question for our determination, then, is * * *: Does the word, ‘recommend,’ as used in the verdict, have the same meaning as the word ‘assess,’ as used in the statute? “In Lewis v. State, 51 Ala. 1 (a murder case), the verdict was to ‘recommend’ punishment of twenty years. It was there contended that the word, ‘recommend,’ did not sufficiently declare the exercise of discretion by the jury in fixing the period of imprisonment in the penitentiary. In disposing of the question adversely to that contention, the Supreme Court of Alabama said: “ ‘It is true that this is not possibly the most apt word that could have been used in such a case. But it certainly fixes the time of imprisonment with sufficient clearness to enable the court to carry the verdict into effect by its judgment. This is enough. The court will construe the language used in reference to the purpose necessarily intended.’ “We are unwilling to give a strict construction to the words, ‘assess’ and ‘recommend,’ as used in the case before us, but rather, will construe the word, ‘recommend,’ as did the Alabama court, in the sense that assessment of punishment was intended by the jury.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Smyth v. Bunch