280 Mich. App. 253 - People v. Blackmon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate ·

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

1. “We also conclude that the misconduct consisting of improper argument to the jury did not so infect the trial with unfairness as to render [defendant’s] convictionfs] a denial of due process. There was evidence that defendant was a member of the Schoolcraft gang and that these crimes (shooting of innocent bystanders) were committed because defendant was coming to the aid of fellow gang member Crost. Crost had visited Kenyatta Simons’ girlfriend, Nancy Ellis, who testified that Simons threatened to harm Crost, and that Crost made a telephone call asking to be picked up because of some trouble. Hearn testified that defendant arrived, spoke to Crost and then fired several shots, two of which hit Hearn as he stood near Simons. This evidence suggests (and the jury concluded) that defendant intended to shoot and murder Simons (for threatening to harm Crost), but instead hit the victims. Thus, there was evidence that defendant’s crimes were gang-motivated, or at least gang-related. Accordingly, the prosecution’s misconduct, consisting of improper argument to the jury regarding defendant’s gang affiliation, did not rise to the level of a constitutional violation, because it did not so infect the trial with unfairness as to render [defendant’s] conviction[s] a deprivation of liberty without due process of law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Blackmon v. Booker