State v. Huff’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

51 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 51 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Issue One: Do you unanimously find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following aggravating circumstance? Issue Two: Do you find from the evidence the existence of one or more of the following mitigating circumstances? Issue Three: Do you unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that the mitigating circumstances found is, or are, insufficient to outweigh the aggravating circumstance found? Issue Four: Do you unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating circumstance you found is sufficiently substantial to call for the imposition of the death penalty when considered with the mitigating circumstance or circumstances found by one or more of you?”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Keel · State v. Brogden

2. “In deciding this case you are not to consider the aggravating circumstances standing alone. You must consider them in connection with mitigating circumstances found by you. Again, when making this final balance in the fourth issue, each juror may consider any circumstance in mitigation that that juror determined to exist whether or not that circumstance is found to exist unanimously by the jury in issue two.”

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

3. “or its derivatives were used no less than twenty-three times. We simply cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the erroneous unanimity instructions given in this case did not preclude one or more jurors from finding and considering in mitigation”

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