State v. Conover’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “In the context of our ex post facto analyses in State v. Mata, 266 Neb. 668 , 668 N.W.2d 448 (2003), and State v. Gales, supra, we concluded that the phrase “without parole,” as employed in L.B. 1, was severable so as to permit resentencing to life imprisonment under the prior version of the statute if the death penalty was not imposed on remand. Moreover, for the same reason that the Legislature lacked constitutional authority to add the phrase “without parole” to § 28-105(1) during the 2002 special session, it also lacked authority to' repeal the version of the statute then in existence which prescribed the penalty for a Class IA felony as life imprisonment. Thus, at the time of Conover’s sentencing, the district court had statutory authority to impose a sentence of life imprisonment on each of the two counts of first degree murder, but it lacked authority to add the phrase “without parole.” Consequently, the sentences were erroneous but not void. See State v. Rouse, 206 Neb. 371 , 293 N.W.2d 83 (1980), and Draper v. Sigler, 177 Neb. 726, 131 N.W.2d 131 (1964) (both holding that indeterminate sentence imposed for crime, where not authorized by statute, is erroneous but not void). See, also, State v. Alford, 6 Neb. App. 969 , 578 N.W.2d 885 (1998).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. State v. Gunther