State v. Batiste’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “We find, however, an error patent in the sentence imposed. At the time the offense was committed (1970), death was the statutory penalty for rape. The jury was authorized to return a verdict of either guilty, guilty without capital punishment, guilty of attempted aggravated rape, guilty of simple rape, or not guilty. La.C.Cr.P. art. 814 (1950). The defendant was not tried until 1973, however, after the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional the procedure by which the death penalty was imposed in Louisiana. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 , 92 S.Ct. 2726 , 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972). In the defendant's case the jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. As the death penalty could not be imposed, the proper sentence is life imprisonment. State v. Quinn, 288 So.2d 605 (La.1974); State v. Franklin, 263 La. 344 , 268 So.2d 249 (1972). We note that this will restore to the defendant the possibility of parole, probation, suspension or commutation of sentence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 10 So. 3d 896 - State v. GRH · 6 So. 3d 982 - State v. Breaux