Booker v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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. ““The information not being sufficient to justify a charge of murder, it was the duty of the court to eliminate murder from the consideration of the jury. Though it is the recognized duty of the trial court to instruct the jury upon every element of crime that the evidence tends to establish, it is likewise his duty to confine his instructions to that which the evidence supports. In the instant case had the first question been properly ruled upon, this question would not have been raised, but since there was no evidence of murder it would constitute error to instruct upon the same, providing proper or timely exception had been made. The record does not reflect that the defendant objected or took exception to the court’s instructions. However, we do not feel called upon to discuss this matter further as it is not likely to recur upon a retrial of this cause. It is contended by the state that the defendant was not prejudiced by the errors discussed herein, and that the verdict was for manslaughter, which the evidence amply supported, and not murder, as charged in the information, and that they should be passed off as harmless errors. With this we cannot agree. As far as this court has been able to determine the question raised herein is of first impression and it must be met head on, and decided with such clarity that this court will not be called upon again to review the same. The doctrine of harmless error will become intolerable if invoked in cases such as the one before us n”

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

2. ““Testimony of other convictions may be inquired into for the purpose of testing credibility of the defendant on cross-examination, but in no event is it admissible to prove other offenses committed by defendant unless it comes within one of the exceptions to the rule as laid down in previous decisions by this court. Those exceptions permit evidence of other crimes when it tends to establish, (1) motive, (2) intent, (3) the absence of mistake or accident, (4) common scheme or plan embracing the commission of two or more crimes so related to each other that proof of one tends to establish the other, (5) the identity of the person charged with the commission of the crime on trial.””

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