2002 WI App 240 - State v. Smart’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “They [the defendants] argue preliminarily that the right to be free from deprivations of liberty as a result of arbitrary sentences is fundamental, and therefore the statutory provision at issue may be upheld only if the Government has a compelling interest in the classification in question. But we have never subjected the criminal process to this sort of truncated analysis, and we decline to do so now. Every person has a fundamental right to liberty in the sense that the Government may not punish him unless and until it proves his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at a criminal trial conducted in accordance with the relevant constitutional guarantees. But a person who has been so convicted is eligible for, and the court may impose, whatever punishment is authorized by statute for his offense, so long as that penalty is not cruel and unusual, and so long as the penalty is not based on an arbitrary distinction that would violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. In this context, ... an argument based on equal protection essentially duplicates an argument based on due process.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Jorgensen

2. “Smart argues the guideline scheme does not bear a rational relationship to the objective of reducing disparity and actually increases it by allowing each judicial district to develop their own standards. While we agree the statute may not be the best way to reduce drunk driving sentencing disparity, a rational basis inquiry does not require perfection. Our only question is whether the statute bears some relationship to advancing that goal. It does. By mandating the creation of guidelines within judicial districts, the statute attempts to reduce sentencing disparity within those districts. While statewide guidelines would perhaps be more equitable, there is no requirement the legislature choose the wisest or most effective means of reducing disparity.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Jorgensen

3. “[T]he ninth district's jail time guideline for [the defendant's] offense is 120 days, except between January 2001 and August 2001, when it was ten months. Had he been convicted of the same crime in other judicial districts, [the defendant] would have likely received a much shorter jail term. In the tenth district, the guideline is 110 days; in the eighth, seventy-five days; and in the fourth, forty-five days.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Jorgensen