Reilly v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “acknowledged a trend in the law to dispense with the pattern jury instructions defining and explaining intent due to their “vagueness and general failure to enlighten juries.” Compton v. State, 931 P.2d 936, 941 (Wyo.1997). Instead, juries should be instructed as to the appropriate intent that is an element of the particular crime; “it is more important that the jury understand what exactly they [are required] to determine.” Id. This is consonant with our recent holding that “the test of whether a jury has been properly instructed on the necessary elements of a crime is whether the instructions leave no doubt as to the circumstances under which the crime can be found to have been committed.” Mueller v. State, 2001 WY 134, ¶ 9 , 36 P.3d 1151, 1155 (Wyo.2001). The point is that attempting formally to distinguish between specific intent and general intent, beyond the substantive elements of the crime, may not be the surest way to define the nature of the intent that must be proven.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Granzer v. State · Bloomfield v. State

2. “elements of these respective statutes. In the past, crimes have commonly been categorized by whether they require a”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bloomfield v. State · Keats v. State

3. ““Given this purpose, the test whether the jury has been instructed on the necessary elements of the crime charged is whether the instruction ‘leaves no doubt as to under what circumstances the crime can be found to have been committed.’ Graham v. United States, 187 F.2d 87, 90 (D.C.Cir.1950), cert. denied, 341 U.S. 920 , 71 S.Ct. 741 , 95 L.Ed. 1353 (1951); United States v. Salliey, 360 F.2d 699, 702 (4th Cir.1966). A failure to give any instruction on an essential element of a criminal offense is fundamental error, as is a confusing or misleading instruction, requiring reversal of the defendant’s conviction!.] Vigil [v. State], 859 P.2d [659] at 662 [(Wyo.1993)], quoting Cole v. Young, 817 F.2d 412, 423 (7th Cir.1987) (emphasis added); Phillips v. State, 760 P.2d 388, 390 (Wyo.1988); Redland v. State, 766 P.2d 1173,1174 (Wyo.1989).””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jones v. State · Gabbert v. State