State v. Spence’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 3 district · 19 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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““§ 636. Murder in the first degree; class A felony. “(a) A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when: “(1) He intentionally causes the death of another person; “(2) In the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted commission of a felony or immediate flight therefrom, he recklessly causes the death of another person; “(3) He intentionally causes another person to commit suicide by force or duress; “(4) He recklessly causes the death of a law-enforcement officer, corrections employee or fireman while such officer is in the lawful performance of his duties; “(5) He causes the death of another person by the use of or detonation of any bomb or similar destructive device; “(6) He, with criminal negligence, causes the death of another person in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted commission of rape, kidnapping, arson in the first degree, robbery in the first degree, or immediate flight therefrom; “(7) He causes the death of another person in order to avoid or prevent the lawful arrest of any person, or in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted commission of escape in the second degree or escape after conviction. “(b) Murder in the first degree is a class A felony and shall be punished as provided in § 4209 of this title.””

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. White · Sheppard v. State

2. ““§ 4209. Method and punishment for first degree murder. “(a) In any case in which a person is convicted of first degree murder the court shall impose a sentence of death. If the penalty of death is determined to be unconstitutional the penalty for first degree murder shall be life imprisonment without benefit of parole. “(b) The imposition of a sentence of death shall be upon such terms and conditions as the court may impose in its sentence, including the place, the number of witnesses and conditions of privacy. Punishment of death shall, in ail cases, be inflicted by hanging by the neck, and the carrying out of such sentence may not be less than 10 days after the imposition of the sentence. The court or the Governor may suspend the execution of the sentence until a later date to be specified, solely to permit completion of the process of judicial review of said conviction.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hobbs v. State · Shields v. State

3. “1. Are the provisions governing punishment for first degree murder in 11 Del.C. § 4209(a) constitutional under Woodson v. North Carolina and related cases? (Including the questions of the constitutionality of both sentences of § 4209(a) and the separability thereof.) 2. If the answer to question 1 is no, what sentence may be imposed? 3. If the answer to question 2 is “life imprisonment without benefit of parole,” what does that sentence mean in light of 11 Del.C. § 4371 et seq.? 3”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Fatir v. Thomas