Williams v. State’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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A]n indictment must contain (1) the essential elements of the offense charged, (2) sufficient facts to fairly inform the defendant of the charge against which he must defend, and (3) sufficient facts to enable him to plead double jeopardy in the event of a future prosecution for the same offense.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Kenny Stewart v. State of Mississippi · Bryan Morton v. State of Mississippi

2. “The question of whether an indictment is fatally defective is an issue of law and deserves a relatively broad standard of review by this Court. The legal sufficiency of an indictment must be reviewed de novo.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ricky L. Shoemaker, Sr. v. State of Mississippi

3. “The primary purpose of an indictment is to give a defendant fair notice of the crime charged.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bryan Morton v. State of Mississippi