State v. Chipps’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

70 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 70 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the gravity of the offense-i.e., the offense's relative position on the spectrum of all criminality-to the harshness of the penalty-i.e., the penalty's relative position on the spectrum of all permitted punishments.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Delehoy · State v. Hauge

2. “[N]onviolent crimes are less serious than crimes marked by violence or the threat of violence.... Stealing a million dollars is viewed as more serious than stealing a hundred dollars.... [A] lesser included offense should not be punished more severely than the greater offense.... It also is generally recognized that attempts are less serious than completed crimes. Similarly, an accessory after the fact should not be subject to a higher penalty than the principal.... Most would agree that negligent conduct is less serious than intentional conduct.... A court, of course, is entitled to look at a defendant’s motive in committing a crime. Thus a murder may-be .viewed as more serious when committed pursuant to a contract. This list is by no means exhaustive.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Diaz

3. “compare the sentence to those imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction as well as those imposed for commission of the same crime in other jurisdictions.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. State v. Delehoy