People v. Wright’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"The defendant's defense was predicated solely upon the position taken by him that the stabbing had occurred accidentally when the deceased — a rather large woman — pushed him and fell to the floor with him while he had a knife in his hand. That being his defense it was the only one that should have been submitted to the jury for its consideration. However, the charge of the Court instructed the jury as to the elements of the defense of justifiable homicide as well as those of the defense of excusable homicide. Counsel for the defendant excepted to such charge and now urges it as a ground for reversal. "By such instruction the Court erroneously gave the jurors an issue to consider which was not in the case (cf. People v. Leis, 13 A.D.2d 22, 27 , 213 N.Y.S.2d 138, 143 ). The defenses of justifiable homicide and excusable homicide are mutually exclusive, the former contemplating an intentional act leading to death while the latter negatives such intention. If the jury gave any consideration to the charge of the Court with respect to justifiable homicide it must have found no merit to such defense because of the complete absence of any proof to support it. Such a finding by the jury could very well have had an effect prejudicial to the defendant in its consideration of the defense of excusable homicide."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Pace v. Commonwealth