Wilson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 219 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 223 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"The Court instructs the jury that the defendant, Steve Thomas, should not be convicted, unless the evidence in this case excludes to a moral certainty every reasonable hypothesis but that of his guilt; no matter how strong the circumstances are they do not come up to the full measure of proof which the law requires if they can be reasonably reconciled with the theory that Steve Thomas is innocent."”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 46 Ala. App. 497 - Harris v. State · 42 Ala. App. 511 - Johnson v. State

2. ““1. The Court charges the jury that if, after considering all the evidence in the case, that tending to show guilt, together with that tending to show innocence, there should spring up involuntarily in the minds of the jury from any part of the evidence, a probability of the innocence of the - defendant, the jury must acquit.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 53 Ala. App. 330 - Funches v. State · Walker v. State

3. ““The Court charges the jury that the legal presumption of innocence is to be regarded by the jury in every case as a matter of evidence, to the benefit of which the accused is entitled, and, as a matter of evidence, attends the accused until his guilt is, by the evidence placed beyond a reasonable doubt.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 407 So. 2d 177 - Carroll v. State · 42 Ala. App. 334 - Pate v. State