Satter v. Solem’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 1 district · 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. “While incarcerated in the Codington County Jail because of probation violations involving area burglaries, without having given Satter Miranda warnings, petitioner was questioned by Codington County Sheriff Berg (Berg), concerning an anonymous phone tip Berg had received about the location of two bodies. Satter told the sheriff he knew about the bodies because the person who had murdered them had asked him to dispose of the bodies. He volunteered the name of the alleged murderer and the location of the bodies after, according to Satter, Berg promised their conversation was off the record. This conversation was never reduced to writing. At the habeas hearing, the sheriff did not recall having made such a promise. Prior to this interview with Berg, Satter had been interviewed on numerous occasions concerning local and out-of-state burglaries and had been Mirandized prior to each interview. Following Satter’s directions, the bodies were located and a DCI investigator was called in. Satter was given Miranda warnings at each interview thereafter. Satter agreed to a polygraph examination dealing specifically with the murders. Up to this point in time, he had not admitted committing the murders. Sat-ter was Mirandized prior to the polygraph examination and before a post-polygraph examination interview. Satter failed the polygraph and thereafter confessed to the murder of two acquaintances, but maintained his actions were in self-defense. His confession was consistent with that theor”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Satter v. Solem

2. “[i]n a habeas corpus appeal, under our scope of review we will , not ordinarily review jury instructions, we may review whether, under similar circumstances, a reasonably competent attorney exercising customary skills and diligence, would have objected so as to determine whether counsel’s performance falls within the wide range of professional assistance required by the Sixth Amendment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Phyle v. Leapley

3. “Habeas corpus can be used only to review (1) whether the court had jurisdiction of the crime and the person of the defendant; (2) whether the sentence was authorized by law; and (3) in certain cases, whether an incarcerated defendant has been deprived of basic constitutional rights.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gross v. Solem