421 So. 2d 229 - State v. Robinson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 22 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. “On August 5, 1980, [Jimmy Robinson, co-defendant] and Keith Stewart knocked at the door of the apartment of Mrs. Joyce Waites, who managed an apartment complex. They told Mrs. Waites that they wanted to apply for a job, but they left when she advised that there were no positions available. Approximately 30 minutes later, Mrs. Waites answered another knock at the door and was confronted by the same two men, who drew guns and demanded money. When Mrs. Waites pointed to her purse, [Robinson] placed a gun against her head and told her to lie on the floor. [Robinson] held the gun to Mrs. Waites’ head, while Stewart searched the house for valuables. Mrs. Waites warned that her husband was coming home for lunch soon and begged them to leave, but they did not do so. When [Mr. Waites] arrived, [Robinson] and Stewart used the gun to require him to lie on the floor next to Mrs. Waites. [Robinson] then made Mrs. Waites accompany him upstairs to search for more money. When they came back downstairs, [Robinson] again told her to lie on the floor next to her husband. |sMrs. Waites told [Robinson] that she could not stop shaking and asked for a cigarette, which [he] gave her. At [Robinson]’s instruction, she placed her head on the floor and closed her eyes. When she heard a shot, she looked up and started screaming when she saw that her husband had been shot. [Robinson] placed the gun against her head and told her to shut up or she would be next. Shortly thereafter, [Robinson] and Stew art l”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 134 So. 3d 636 - State v. Stewart

2. “"`Any prosecutor who refers to appellate review of the death sentence treads dangerously in the area of reversible error. If the reference conveys the message that the jurors' awesome responsibility is lessened by the fact that their decision is not the final one, or if the reference contains inaccurate or misleading information, then the defendant has not had a fair trial in the sentencing phase, and the penalty should be vacated. `But virtually every person of age eligible for jury service knows that death penalties are reviewed on appeal. There is no absolute prohibition against references to this fact of common knowledge, and this court should not impose an absolute prohibition, since such a reference does not necessarily serve to induce a juror to disregard his responsibility. The issue should be determined in each individual case by viewing such a reference to appellate review in the context in which the remark was made.'" (Quoting State v. Berry, 391 So.2d 406, 418 (La. 1980), cert. denied, 451 U.S. 1010 , 101 S.Ct. 2347 , 68 L.Ed.2d 863 (1981)).”

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

3. “a significant prior history of criminal activity....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. State v. Knighton