State v. Hedgepeth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Then members of the jury, you go to what’s to the remainder of these or non-statutory mitigating factors, and they start with number four and you should, you should consider those circumstances starting with number four and following from it that arise from the evidence, which you find to have mitigating value. And if any one or more of you find — if any one of or more of you find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that any of these following or additional mitigating circumstances exist, and also are deemed to have, or deemed by you to have mitigating value, then you would so indicate by having your foreperson write yes in the space provided after each of the circumstance as it applies.”

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

2. ““the trial court properly informed the jurors that in order to find a statutory mitigating circumstance to exist, all [the jury] must find is that the circumstance is supported by a preponderance of the evidence. However, unlike statutory mitigating circumstances, the trial court instructed the jurors that in order to find nonstatutory mitigating circumstances, they must (1) find by a preponderance of the evidence that the circumstance existed, and (2) find that the circumstance has mitigating value. These instructions properly distinguished between statutory and non-statutory mitigating circumstances and informed the jurors of their duty under the law.””

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

3. ““[T]o determine whether a prospective juror may be excused for cause due to that juror’s views on capital punishment, the trial court must consider whether those views would ‘[“]prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath.[”]’ Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424 , 83 L. Ed. 2d 841, 851-52 (1985) [(quoting Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45 , 65 L. Ed. 2d 581, 589 (1980))].” State v. Bowman, 349 N.C. 459, 469-70 , 509 S.E.2d 428, 435 (1998), cert. denied, [527] U.S. [1040], [144] L. Éd. 2d [802] (1999).”

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