State v. Powell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In the disavowed statement defendant asserts the following: There was an argument between him and the deceased in the apartment. She “went for his” gun, which was on his person, and she “got it.” Defendant grabbed it, was pulling it toward himself and then “turned it away” from himself, at which time it went off. The deceased then fell on a chair. During the course of the quarrel, she came at him, he pushed her away, she came back at him and his shirt “went up.” She then grabbed for the gun that was in his belt, and she “had it and that’s when there were shots from the gun.” When she had removed the gun from his belt during their struggle, he “thought” it was pointed in his direction, and “figured I was gone so when I first heard the shots, I was surprised . . . like I was supposed to be hit but it was her” when the first shot was fired. He removed the weapon from her. “It was like in both of our hands” while they were struggling for the weapon. When the gun went off, both of them had possession of it; he was trying to “wrestle” it from her. He also stated that the gun went off “while it was in her possession.” The weapon discharged more than once. She was standing “by the chair” when this happened. He later disposed of the gun on the highway after leaving the apartment to go to Atlantic City. He was asked whether he cared to add anything to the statement. He answered, “the only thing is that it was an accident.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Powell