State v. Bashor’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 1 district · 56 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 60 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Shades of the old west were re-enacted at Bert’s Bar in Kevin early Saturday morning, when a bar patron was shot down and killed, at about 1:15. According to reports, James F. Hurley, 41, was inside the bar when Howard ‘Ozzie’ Bashor 56, drove up and sent word inside for Hurley to come outside. Hurley walked outside and was shot down.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bashor v. Risley · Bashor v. Risley

2. “In order to justify the use of force likely to cause death or serious bodily harm (often called deadly force), it must appear to the Defendant that the danger was so urgent that, in order to save his own life, or to save himself from serious bodily harm, the use of such deadly force was absolutely necessary. And it must further appear that the deceased was the assailant. A bare fear of the commission of the offense, to prevent which Defendant used a deadly weapon, is not sufficient to justify it; but the circumstances must be sufficient to excite the fears of a reasonable man, and the Defendant must have acted under the influence of such fears alone. It is not necessary, however, to justify the use of a deadly weapon that the danger be actual. It is enough to be an apparent danger; such an appearance as would induce a reasonable person to believe he was in danger of serious bodily harm. Upon such appearance a party may act with safety, nor will he be held accountable though it would afterward appear that the indications upon which he acted were wholly fallacious, and that he was in no actual peril. The rule in such case is this: What would a reasonable person — a person of ordinary caution, judgment and observation — in the position of the Defendant, seeing what he saw, knowing what he knew, suppose from this situation and these surroundings? If such reasonable person so placed would have been justified in believing himself in imminent danger, then the Defendant would be just”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bashor v. Risley

3. “Q. You said previously to Mr. Conner that you didn’t think you could be a fair juror. Explain what you mean or what your thoughts are on that, and just why you think this. A. Okay. Mr. Kalbfleisch, when he asked me, was asking if I could do this on the facts, you know, of the case, and I really think I can. The other lawyer was questioning on my emotions, and those are two different things. Q. Undoubtedly you will be instructed that if you were to serve as a juror in this case the case must be decided upon the evidence presented in the courtroom A. Yes. Q. ... and that you are not to decide this case on sympathy, conjecture, or any other thing. Now would you be able to follow an instruction of that nature? A. Yes, I really think I could because even though I would feel sympathy or emotion my conscience would not let me. I would still have to be fair when it came to choosing. Q. You think you could be a fair juror? A. Yes, I think I could. Q. I gather what you are saying is that you are a compassionate person, but a fair person also? A. Yes.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bashor v. Risley