Mitchel v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The charge instructed jurors that having a reasonable doubt of appellant’s guilt of the greater offense amounted to an acquittal of that offense and required that jurors consider the lesser offenses. The charge then required that, if the jurors had a reasonable doubt as to whether appellant was guilty of the greater offense or the lesser included offense, the jurors must resolve any doubt by finding appellant guilty of the lesser offense. When read together, these two instructions properly instructed jurors regarding the effect of them having had a reasonable doubt as to any charged offense. Id, at 250.”

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

2. “LIf you unanimously find the defendant guilty of the greater offense, you will proceed directly to the verdict page and convict the defendant of the greater offense. If you do not unanimously find the defendant guilty of the greater offense], or if you have a reasonable doubt thereof, you will [not convict] the defendant of [the greater offense] [but] will next consider whether the defendant is guilty of the lesser offense....”

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

3. “The better practice is to instruct the jury that if it has a reasonable doubt as to whether a defendant is guilty of any offense defined in the charge, it will find the defendant not guilty and the better location for such an instruction is after the last lesser included offense in the charge.”

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