State v. Tucker’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

71 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 77 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “1. The judge should have instructed the jury, when asked, that appellant would not be eligible for parole for thirty years if sentenced to life imprisonment. 2. The judge’s Allen charge 1 , under the circumstances of this case, was unduly coercive of the single juror holding out for a life sentence. 3. The judge allowed the state to introduce an excessive and prejudicial amount of evidence concerning the victim’s background and character, which the solicitor exploited in his closing argument. 4. Evidence that appellant was wearing a woman’s girdle at the time of his arrest was irrelevant and immaterial to any legitimate issue at sentencing.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 56 F. Supp. 2d 611 - Tucker v. Moore

2. “the trial judge, knowing only one juror prevented the jury from a unanimous decision, erred in giving an Allen charge”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tucker v. Catoe

3. “We are hopelessly deadlocked at 11-1 for the death penalty. I do not feel we will ever get a unanimous decision”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tucker v. Catoe