State v. . Redfern’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “If you find from the evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant William Barrow intentionally killed the deceased with a deadly weapon, and the Court instructs you that the shotgun described in evidence in this case is a deadly weapon, the law raises two presumptions against the defendant. First, that the killing is unlawful, and, second, that it was done with malice, and an unlawful killing with malice is murder in the second degree, and the defendant would be guilty of murder in the second degree unless he can satisfy you, the jury, of the truth or fact which justifies his act or mitigates it to manslaughter. The burden in that event would be on the defendant to establish such facts to the satisfaction of you, the jury; now, not beyond a reasonable doubt, nor by the greater weight of the evidence, but to the satisfaction of the jury, unless they arise out of the evidence against him; that is, if he would rebut the presumption arising from such showing, he must establish to the satisfaction of the jury the legal provocation which will take from the crime the element of malice and thus reduce it to manslaughter or which will excuse it altogether on the grounds of self-defense, and this, ladies and gentlemen, may arise out of the evidence offered against him.”

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