State v. Ramey’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[Defendant was entitled to an explicit instruction, even in the absence of a specific request therefor, to the effect the jury should return a verdict of not guilty if the State failed to satisfy them from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that a bullet wound inflicted upon Mabry by defendant proximately caused his death. The trial judge inadvertently failed to give such Tan! instruction. The necessity for such an instruction is not affected bv the fact there was plenary evidence upon which the iurv [might return a verdict of guilty]. It is noted that no instruction was given that if the State failed to satisfy the jury from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of murder in the second degree, and failed to satisfy the jury from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was guilty of manslaughter, the jury should return a verdict of not guilty.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Fowler · 186 N.C. App. 373 - State v. McArthur

2. “If the State has satisfied you beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant, by means of a deadly weapon, intentionally inflicted the wound which produced [the victim’s] death it would be your duty to return a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree unless defendant has satisfied you that she shot [the victim] in self-defense. If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant intentionally shot [the victim] and that his death was the natural and probable result, but you are not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she shot him with malice, your verdict will be voluntary manslaughter unless defendant has satisfied you she shot [the victim] in self-defense. If you are not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant shot [the victim] intentionally but are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she shot him in the commission of some unlawful act and his death was a natural and probable result, your verdict will be guilty of involuntary manslaughter even though the wounding of the deceased was unintentional, unless defendant has satisfied you she shot in self-defense. Although the State may have satisfied you beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant shot and killed [the victim], if she has satisfied you that she was not the aggressor and that she shot [the victim] under circumstances which created in her mind the reasonable belief that it was necessary to shoot him in order to save herself from death or great bodily harm, it would be your duty to retu”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 186 N.C. App. 373 - State v. McArthur

3. ““I instruct you, Members of the Jury, that if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about the first of July of this year the defendant, Jesse Thurman Fowler, did intentionally and without justification or excuse shoot John Griffin with a pistol and thereby proximately caused his death and that Jesse Thurman Fowler then intended to kill John Griffin and that he acted with malice and premeditation and deliberation, if you find all of those facts to exist beyond a reasonable doubt, it would be your duty to return a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. If you do not so find or have a reasonable doubt as to any one or more of those things, you would not return a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. “If you do not find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree, you must determine whether he is guilty of murder in the second degree. Upon that charge if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that on or about the first of July of 1973, Jesse Fowler did intentionally and with malice shoot John Griffin with a pistol thereby proximately causing his death, then nothing else appearing, it would be your duty to return a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree. However, if you do not so find, or have a reasonable doubt as to any one or more of those things, you would not return a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree.””

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