Pierce v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

91 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 93 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The longstanding common law view is that a “continued prosecution necessarily depend[s] upon the continued life of the statute which the prosecution seeks to apply. In case a statute is repealed or rendered inoperative, no further proceedings can be had to enforce it in pending prosecutions unless competent authority has kept the statute alive for that purpose.... Prosecution for crimes is but an application or enforcement of the law, and if the prosecution continues the law must continue to vivify it.””

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

2. “The application of a new or amended criminal statute may prompt a defendant to allege a violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause, arguing the court may not apply a statute enacted or amended after the date of an offense in his case.”

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

3. “will reverse the PCR judge's decision when it is controlled by an error of law.”

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