State v. McBride’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 47 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 50 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Generally, this court has considered the issue of inadequacy of counsel only on appeal from post-conviction hearings, but where the defense at trial was so ineffective and counsel's representation so casual that the trial record evidences a manifest usurpation of appellant's constitutional rights, the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel will be reviewed on direct appeal.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Wurtz · State v. Larson

2. “By not requesting that the jury be instructed to consider with caution the testimony of an accomplice, appellant’s counsel omitted a defense which might have negated [the witness’s] damning testimony.... [This] instruction ], if [it] had been requested and given, might have mitigated the effect of [the witness’s] testimony, hence reducing the chances of appellant’s conviction. No advantage could have been envisioned by appellant’s counsel in withholding [a] request! ] for [this] instruction.”

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

3. “our function is not to second-guess the tactical decisions of trial counsel, nor will we substitute our own theoretical judgment for that of the trial attorney.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Woods v. Solem