Ochoa v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Ochoa argues that the Supreme Court’s holding in Atkins prohibits the State from executing a person who was mentally retarded at the time the crimes were committed, not at the time of the jury trial on the issue of mental retardation. Evidence presented at Ochoa’s jury trial on mental retardation showed that Ochoa scored higher on intelligence tests given in 2008 than on those given to him in 1995 and 1996. Evidence also was presented which showed Ochoa had learned to read and write while incarcerated and suggested his ability to learn to read and write likely contributed to his more current test performance. Counsel for Ochoa requested the trial court instruct the jury that it must find Ochoa was mentally retarded at the time of the offense and the trial court denied the requested instructions. Ochoa argues that the focus of the Court in Atkins was upon the moral culpability of the offender at the time of the crime and the relevant constitutional inquiry is not whether the offender is retarded at the moment, but rather whether the offender was retarded when the crime occurred. He asks this Court to vacate the jury’s verdict because it was rendered upon instructions which required it to find Ochoa was presently mentally retarded. Although the Court in Atkins did not specifically define “mental retardation” for the individual States and left ... to the States “the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon [their] execution of sentences,”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ochoa v. Workman

2. “Although Respondent admits [Oklahoma statutory law] is applicable to the use of a "shock sleeve,” it argues the statute is inapplicable to this case because Ochoa was forced to wear the sleeve at a mental retardation jury trial after he had already been convicted. We do not agree. The application of [Oklahoma statutory law] logically extends to any fact-finding trial processes. As the Supreme Court found in Deck, a jury's observation of a defendant in visible restraints undermines its ability to weigh accurately all relevant considerations. It implies the defendant is dangerous and almost assuredly affects the jury's perception of the defendant’s character. Although a defendant’s dangerousness has nothing to do with a finding of mental retardation, speculation on the defendant’s character based upon observation of visible restraints diverts the jury's attention from' its fact-finding mission — in this case, its consideration of the evidence relevant to the determination of a defendant's mental retardation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ochoa v. Workman

3. “No person can be compelled in a criminal action to be witness against himself; nor can a person charged with a public offense be subjected before conviction to any more restraint than is necessary for his detention to answer the charge, and in no event shall he be tried before a jury while in chains or shackles.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. BRAMLETT v. STATE