Hays v. State’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. ““While the duty to retreat, generally speaking, is an essential element of self-defense, there is a well-recognized exception to the general rule, and that is, when a person is in actual or apparent imminent peril of losing his life, or of serious bodily harm from an assault by the deceased which was unprovoked and manifestly murderous in character, and deceased was then in the act of effectuating his murderous purpose by the use of a deadly weapon, the defendant is under no duty. to retreat, but may stand his ground and defend himself. — Scruggs v. State, 224 Ala. 328 , 140 So. 405 ; Walker v. State, 220 Ala. 544 , 126 So. 848 ; Beasley v. State, 181 Ala. 28 , 61 So. 259 ; Matthews v. State, 192 Ala. 1 , 68 So. 334 . “While there was a conflict in the. evidence, the defendant’s proof showed that at the time the defendant fired the. fatal shot the deceased was making an ,. unprovoked effort to shoot him with, a pistol, and, this being true,, the trial court erred in refusing his requested charge A. “This charge was not covered by the ■■given charges or the„oral charge-of • the trial court. Indeed, the excepted to portion of the oral charge indicated that the duty to. retreat was .placed on this defendant whether or no, thus, in effect, ignoring his theory and proof connected with the homicide.””

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