State v. Simpson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

56 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 58 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Defendant confessed that on 26 August 1984, he and his pregnant, sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Stephanie Eury, went for a walk to look for some money. Stephanie went to the front door of Reverend Darter’s house and rang the doorbell. She told Reverend Darter she was hungry, so he brought her a diet soft drink and gave the defendant a glass of milk. Stephanie asked if they could come inside, so the three went into the front living room. Stephanie told the Reverend that she and defendant were traveling to Florida and had gotten stuck in Reidsville. The Reverend suggested they contact the Salvation Army or the police. Stephanie asked Darter if he could give them some money, and Reverend Darter gave her four dollars, explaining that was all the money he had in cash. Defendant told police that he and Stephanie “noticed the preacher had a nice home.” After getting permission to use the telephone, defendant called Ruby Locklear in Greensboro to see if she had seen defendant’s father. When defendant got off of the telephone, he heard Stephanie tell the Reverend her name was “Lisa” and defendant’s name was “Curtis Anthony.” Defendant watched the Reverend write these names down on a pad of paper. Defendant told the police that before he and Stephanie left the house, the Reverend gave them some sponge cake and peaches to take with them. Defendant admitted that “Reverend Darter was real friendly to us and was very helpful.” The next day, 27 August 1984, defendant said that he and Stephani”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simpson v. Polk

2. “Two belts were wrapped around Reverend Darter’s neck. The outer belt was the largest and thickest, and it was tied to the bedpost. The inner belt was broken. Reverend Darter’s face was bloated and bloody. He had glass in his left eye, and a design composed of many small circles and dots was imprinted on the Reverend’s left cheek. Both of the Reverend’s arms were cut open from his elbows to his wrists. Blood was on the bed and had run down the side of the bed and formed a puddle on the floor; there was blood on the walls and window blinds. Also on the bed were the contents of two dresser drawers, shattered glass, the Reverend’s broken glasses, his false teeth, a razor blade, and the neck of a glass Tab bottle.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simpson v. Polk

3. “[T]he Reverend sustained blunt-trauma injuries to his face causing swelling and bruising. The bone between the eye socket and the brain was fractured, the cheek and the jaw bone were broken, and the Reverend’s tongue was torn. Strangulation bruises appeared on the neck. It was Dr. Shkrum’s opinion that Reverend Darter died from ligature strangulation, and that it would have taken several minutes for his heart to stop beating. It was Dr. Shkrum’s further opinion that Reverend Darter experienced pain. Dr. Shkrum also testified that because Reverend Darter sustained bruising around his face, his heart was still beating when those injuries were inflicted.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Simpson v. Polk