State v. Anderson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 28 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Although the defendant’s sanity was an issue before the jurors, his route from Lincoln, to Fremont, to Iowa, to Minnesota, to Illinois and back to Lincoln was not. . . . Closely reviewing the opening statements, the trial evidence, including the experts’ testimony, and the closing arguments, no argument was made nor evidence adduced that connects, or can reasonably be inferred to relate, the distances between and/or locations of Lincoln; Fremont; Martin’s Access; the Montgomery farm, Cornell, Iowa; the Bredvick farm; Sioux Rapids, Iowa; the Rowe farm; Fridley, Minnesota; the Behun home; St. Paul, Minnesota; the intersection of Como Avenue and Dale Avenue; the secluded area where Billings was driven; Chicago; and Lincoln, to the defendant’s contention that he was insane or mentally deranged when he shot and killed McGarry and Brooks. The evidence and arguments made related to what happened at those locales, not to where those locales were in relation to each other or when the defendant was supposed to be there. After reviewing the record, the court finds that there is no reasonable possibility that the extraneous material or information secured by Boyce affected the jury’s verdicts to the defendant’s detriment. There was no actual prejudice and no reasonable possibility of prejudice to the defendant by Boyce’s misconduct.”

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

2. “The examination of the jurors in this cause by the trial court and both counsel failed to disclose either directly or inferentially that any of the jurors had been prejudiced by their exposure to the headline or subhead in question. Even though three of the jurors acknowledged that the subhead stated that the instant cause was a retrial, none of the jurors exhibited any knowledge as to the circumstances of the retrial or whether the first trial was terminated prior to its conclusion or was reversed on appeal. The mere use of the word retrial, without further explanation, does not automatically connote that a defendant was convicted of particular crimes in a prior trial, nor does it necessarily mean that a prior trial had reached its completion. Simply put, none of the jurors testified that they had any knowledge regarding a prior conviction or as to why [the defendant] was being granted a new trial. [19]”

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