State v. Thompson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

68 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 68 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) ... [T]he use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion. (4) . The use of deadly force shall not be justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death [or] serious bodily harm . .. nor is it justifiable if: (a) The actor, with the purpose of causing death or serious bodily harm, provoked the use of force against himself in the same encounter; or (b) The actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating .... (5) ... [A] person employing protective force may estimate the necessity thereof under the circumstances as he believes them to be when the force is used, without retreating ....”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. White · State v. Kinser

2. “A person commits murder in the first degree if he or she kills another person purposely and with deliberate and premeditated malice. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-303 (1) (Reissue 1989). “Purposely,” as an element of first degree murder, means intentionally. . . . The intent involved in an actor’s conduct is a mental process and may be inferred from the conduct itself; the actor’s language, if any, in reference to the conduct; and the circumstances surrounding the conduct____ “Malice,” like intent, concerns the state of mind of the slayer and may be inferred from the words and acts of the defendant, the circumstances surrounding his or her conduct, and the evidence relating to the circumstances of the criminal act. . . . Malice is that condition of the mind which is manifested by the intentional doing of a wrongful act without just cause or excuse____ “ ‘Deliberate malice’ and ‘premeditated malice’ are separate and distinct elements of the crime of murder in the first degree____ “ ‘Deliberate’ means not suddenly, not rashly; but deliberation requires that the defendant considered the probable consequences of his or her act before doing the act.... A person kills with ‘deliberate malice’ when he or she, without just cause or excuse, kills another not suddenly or rashly, but after considering the probable consequences of doing the act. “ ‘Premeditated’ means to have formed a design to commit an act before it is done. ... A person kills with “premeditated malice” if before the act causin”

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

3. “Based upon all the direct and circumstantial evidence in this case, the jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s words and conduct in the days and hours before the shooting, as well as the circumstances surrounding the shooting itself, were sufficient to prove that the defendant intended to kill Frank and that she did so with deliberate and premeditated malice____”

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