Collins v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 134 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 169 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]he likelihood that a death penalty would be executed without such an appeal, in the absence of a knowing and intelligent waiver, is highly improbable.”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Franz Ex Rel. Simmons v. State · Rogers v. State

2. “It is urged, however, that our system does not meet Gregg - Proffitt - Jurek standards necessary to avoid Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment prohibitions for lack of a mandatory appeal of a judgment imposing the death penalty and of appellate review which compares cases in which the death penalty has been imposed. [This is a reference to the standards set out in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 , 96 S.Ct. 2909 , 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976), Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 , 96 S.Ct. 2960 , 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976), and Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262 , 96 S.Ct. 2950 , 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976).] We find nothing in any opinion, and certainly no majority, which supports a holding that there must be either a mandatory or automatic appeal of a judgment imposing the death penalty or that there must be appellate review which compares cases in which the death penalty has been imposed.... ... It seems to us that the only actual requirement, even of the Stewart plurality, is that a meaningful appellate review is available to insure that death penalties are not arbitrarily, capriciously or freakishly imposed. The important question is whether the system creates a substantial risk of arbitrariness or caprice. .... The idea that in Gregg , Proffitt , and Jurek , the United States Supreme Court has held that there must be a mandatory or automatic appeal from the imposition of the death penalty by a state trial court seems to have crumbled with the recent actions of the court in Gilmore v. State of Utah, 429”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Franz Ex Rel. Simmons v. State

3. “On appeal from a sentence of death, it is the practice of this Court to compare the sentence with sentences in other cases in which the death penalty has been imposed. Collins, supra. Petitioner argues that in his case no comparative review was required or afforded by this Court, apparently because the opinion does not specifically state that it was. While there is no absolute requirement under federal law that this Court make a comparative review of a death sentence, we have consistently afforded such review since Collins , although our opinions do not so state in all cases.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 824 F. Supp. 1327 - Hill v. Lockhart