41 So. 3d 857 - Wade v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

25 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “You might hear an argument about life is enough. Life is however many years he’s got left and leaves that prison only when he dies. What I suggest to you is that argument tells you that this defendant should not be held fully accountable for his actions. The argument in essence says let’s take the easy way out. I know life is life and I know it will be a miserable life in prison and let’s give him life, but that’s not the law of the State of Florida. You have to weigh and weigh this aggravation and you will find that it cries out for full accountability-”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 111 So. 3d 810 - Braddy v. State · 136 So. 3d 1169 - Toney Deron Davis v. State of Florida

2. “"A motion for mistrial should be granted only when the error is deemed so prejudicial that it vitiates the entire trial, depriving the defendant of a fair proceeding." For a new trial to be warranted, the comments "must either deprive the defendant of a fair and impartial trial, materially contribute to the conviction, be so harmful or fundamentally tainted as to require a new trial, or be so inflammatory that they might have influenced the jury to reach a more severe verdict than that it would have otherwise."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. John William Campbell v. State of Florida & SC18-260 John William Campbell v. Julie L. Jones, etc.

3. “HAC focuses on the means and manner in which the death is inflicted and the immediate circumstances surrounding the death, rather than the intent and motivation of a defendant, where a victim experiences the torturous anxiety and fear of impending death. Thus, if a victim is killed in a torturous manner, a defendant need not have the intent or desire to inflict torture, because the very torturous manner of the victim’s death is evidence of a defendant’s indifference.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 136 So. 3d 1125 - Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. v. State of Florida