Jacobsen v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

16 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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The duly organized Grand Jury of Harris County, Texas, presents in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, that in Harris County, Texas, JUSTIN DAREN BUXTON, hereafter styled the Defendant, heretofore on or about October 15, 2007 and continuing through October 15, 2012, did then and there, unlawfully, during a period of time thirty or more days in duration, commit at least two acts of sexual abuse against a child younger than fourteen years of age, including an act constituting the offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, committed against [C.T.] on or about October 15, 2007, and an act constituting the offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child, committed against [C.T.] on or about October 15, 2012, and the Defendant was at least seventeen years of age at the time of the commission of each of those acts.”

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

2. “it is the commission of two or more acts of sexual abuse over the specified time period — that is, the pattern of behavior or the series of acts — that is the actus reus element of the offense as to which the jurors must be unanimous in order to convict. The individual acts of sexual abuse that make up this pattern of behavior or series of acts are not themselves elements of the offense, but are merely evidentiary facts, the manner and means by which the actus reus element is committed. When there is evidence of more than two acts of abuse over the specified time period, section 21.02(d) makes it clear that the jurors need not agree as to which individual acts were committed so long as they agree that the defendant committed at least two.”

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