Thompson v. Bell’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

17 federal appellate · 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 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a. Both trial and post-conviction counsel knew Petitioner’s mental state was an important issue but without assistance from a competent investigator and mental health expert, counsel was unable to explain and overcome the state mental hospital’s initial findings. b. Attorney Parsons was aware of Petitioner’s history of head injuries and “the significant [sic] of those head injuries and what that can do to somebody.” P.C. Vol. I, p. 38. Later, counsel also witnessed “a period when he [Petitioner] got sick mentally.” P.C. Vol. I, p. 83. Trial counsel requested funds for a mental health expert but were denied. Instead, Petitioner was sent to Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute (MTMHI) for a competency evaluation. Although MTMHI found Petitioner to be competent, Mr. Parsons continued to believe further evaluation was needed.... c.Records from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution reflect that several different treating psychiatrists have diagnosed Petitioner as having either a bipolar affective disorder, cyclic mood disorder, schizo-affective disorder or schizophrenia. All of the psychiatrists described Petitioner’s agitated behavior, hostility, inappropriate affect, auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and thoughts of persecution. Psychiatrists considered the possibility of Petitioner’s malingering and all discounted that possibility. State examiners at Riverbend ruled out malingering noting that it did not explain all psychotic features. Test results i”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Thompson v. Bell

2. “Counsel has now had numerous opportunities via expert testimony to establish that Thompson suffered from organic brain disease or mental illness at the time of the crime. And yet, at each opportunity, counsel fails to secure an answer to the critical issue of whether Thompson was mentally ill at the time of the crime. In essence, counsel is attempting to rely on, as proof, two inferences: 1) because Thompson allegedly suffered head injuries, he must have suffered brain damage, and 2) because he is currently suffering from schizo-affective disorder, he must have been suffering from mental illness at the time of the crime. But inferences are not proof, as even Thompson’s experts seem to recognize, for each and every one fails to automatically take the leap from these inferences to the conclusion that he was mentally incompetent at the time of the murder. However, absent some evidence of organic brain damage or mental illness at the time of the cnme, trial counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to discover something that does not appear to exist. As we held in Lorraine v. Coyle, 291 F.3d 416 , 436 (6th Cir.2002), “[i]t simply cannot be said that trial counsel’s conduct fell below an objective standard of reasonableness under Strickland simply because the leads [of possible brain damage] led nowhere.” Thompson has not presented any evidence of incompetence at the time of the crime or trial in either the state or federal proceedings. As previously noted, none of Thompson”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Thompson v. Bell

3. “The Riverbend medical record indicated that since 1985, Mr. Thompson had shown a deteriorating mental status. He had become psychotic. He had been treated with anti-psychotic medication at that time. He was treated with Haldol, Cogentin, and Lithium, and three different treating physicians at that time: Dr. Dyner [sic], Dr. Deal, and Dr. Humble had all over the years from 1985 to 1990 had diagnosed him as either having bipolar disorder or a schizo affective disorder or schizophrenia. They described his agitated behavior. They described his hostility. They described his inappropriate affect, his experience of auditory hallucinations, his delusions, his paranoia, his thoughts of persecution. He had attempted suicide of a couple of occasions. He had set fire to his cell burning both his hands and his face. They had certainly — two of those psychiatrists and maybe all three of them had considered the possibility that he was malingering, that he was faking mental illness and throughout their Riverbend records, it was clear that those psychiatrists had discounted the possibility of malingering because they didn’t feel that it accounted for all of the psychotic symptoms they saw in him.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Thompson v. Bell