447 So. 2d 1327 - Smith v. State’s Empirical Analysis
1983
Citation profile
26 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 26 later decisions — most recently September 2010 · most notably 503 So. 2d 871 - Thompson v. State (1986), 520 So. 2d 235 - Porter v. State (1987)
26 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on State v. Bly · 401 So. 2d 204 - Ferguson v. State · Fuller v. State · State v. Calumet & Hecla Consol. Copper Co. · 401 So. 2d 191 - Nobis v. State
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 26 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“(5) For a Class B or C felony in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony, not less than 10 years."”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“"Sentences for felonies shall be for a definite term of imprisonment, which imprisonment includes hard labor, within the following limitations:”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““ ‘A criminal statute must be definite and certain with respect to the punishment it is intended to impose.’ Smith v. United States, 145 F.2d 643, 644 (10th Cir.1944), cert. denied, 323 U.S. 803 (1945). Of particular importance in this case is the principle that the ‘constitutional validity of a particular statute is not affected merely because the statute does not expressly limit and fix the maximum penalty which may be imposed. It is sufficient if the maximum penalty is fixed by a general or related statute.’ Andreas v. Clark, 71 F.2d 908, 909 (9th Cir.1934) [other citations omitted]. “Alabama has no general statute fixing the maximum penalty which may be imposed for a felony.... “Applying these principles and rules of construction, we find that Section 13A-5-6 is definite and certain with respect to the punishments it intends to impose. We do find that it was misconstrued by the trial judge who mistakenly sentenced the defendant to a term of imprisonment in excess of that authorized by statute. “Isolated from the remainder of the statute, subdivisions (4) and (5) of subsection (a) do establish minimum sentences without fixing maximum terms. Construing the statute as a whole, it is clear that those maximum terms are in fact supplied by subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of subsection (a). Any confusion created by the failure of subdivisions (4) and (5) to specifically state the maximum limits of imprisonment must be imputed to the fact that these subdivisions were added by subse”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.