29 F. Supp. 2d 11 - Simpson v. Matesanz’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 3 district · 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Now, the words "beyond a reasonable doubt” are a legal shorthand expression that stand for the degree of certainty that is required before a jury may convict a person, any person, of a crime, any crime. It means that after weighing the testimony, evaluating whether you are going to believe any, part, all or none of any witness' story, after examining the exhibits, after hearing the whole case, the evidence that you have heard discussed amongst yourselves, you must, all 12 of you, be sure that he is guilty. Otherwise, he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and must be acquitted. Now, when I say sure, I don't mean that the commonwealth has to prove a defendant’s guilt to an absolute or to a mathematical certainty. That is not what we mean by beyond a reasonable doubt. But what we mean rather is that when all is said and done in your jury room, after you have gone over the testimony, the exhibits, after you have taken into consideration the law as I explain it to you, you must be sure to a moral certainty, to that same degree of certainty which you would want when you have had to make decisions of importance in your own lives. After you have discussed the evidence thoroughly amongst yourselves, if you have any serious unanswered questions about the defendant’s guilt, then he must be given the benefit of the doubt (emphasis added).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Simpson v. Matesanz

2. “An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim— (1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Simpson v. Matesanz

3. “Out of consideration for comity and federalism, these requirements reflect the long-standing rule that a federal court will not engage in habeas review when the petitioner is being held pursuant to a state court judgment that is based on an independent and adequate state-law ground.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 152 F. Supp. 2d 67 - Lattimore v. Dubois