301 Ga. App. 854 - Hedden v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[I]n determining the legislature’s intent, we first emphasize that OCGA § 17-10-6.2 lists six conditions, all of which must be satisfied before a trial court may exercise its permissive authority to deviate from the applicable mandatory minimum sentence. Conditions A — C thereof plainly address the status of the defendant’s conduct; however, the latter three conditions, including Condition F, focus entirely on the victim. Thus, for purposes of Condition F, it is irrelevant whether [the defendants] personally restrained the children whose photographs they possessed. A reading of OCGA § 16-12-100 clearly shows that the victim of the crime of which [the defendants] were convicted is the child who is sexually exploited by photographs taken of the child while engaged in sexually explicit conduct, whether restrained or unrestrained when photographed. See Osborne v. Ohio, 495 U. S. 103, 111 (110 SC 1691, 109 LE2d 98) (1990) (“The pornography’s continued existence causes the child victims continuing harm by haunting the children in years to come.”) (emphasis supplied). Conviction of sexual exploitation by possession of photographs victimizing children in the manner foreclosed by Condition F (see City of Macon v. Alltel Communications, 277 Ga. 823, 828, n. 8 ( 596 SE2d 589 ) (2004) (“(w)ords, like people, are judged by the company they keep”) (citations and punctuation omitted)) is sufficient to show a failure to satisfy such condition. Any contrary conclusion as to the interface betw”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 306 Ga. App. 595 - Tindell v. State

2. “(A) The defendant has no prior conviction of an offense prohibited by Chapter 6 of Title 16 or Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16, nor a prior conviction for any offense under federal law or the laws of another state or territory of the United States which consists of the same or similar elements of offenses prohibited by Chapter 6 of Title 16 or Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16; (B) The defendant did not use a deadly weapon or any object, device, or instrument which when used offensively against a person would be likely to or actually did result in serious bodily injury during the commission of the offense; (C) The court has not found evidence of a relevant similar transaction; (D) The victim did not suffer any intentional physical harm during the commission of the offense; (E) The offense did not involve the transportation of the victim; and (F) The victim was not physically restrained during the commission of the offense.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 306 Ga. App. 595 - Tindell v. State