United States v. Thomas’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

141 federal appellate · 7 district · 75 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 245 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The verdict must represent the considered judgment of each juror. In order to return a verdict, it is necessary that each juror agree thereto. Your verdict must be unanimous. It is your duty, as jurors, to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement, if you can do so without violence to individual judgment. Each of you must decide the case for yourself, but do so only after an impartial consideration of the evidence with your fellow jurors. In the course of your deliberations, do not hesitate to reexamine your own views and change your opinion if convinced it is erroneous. But do not surrender your honest conviction as to the weight or effect of evidence solely because of the opinion of your fellow jurors, or for the mere purpose of returning a verdict. You are not partisans. You are judges — judges of the facts. Your sole interest is to ascertain the truth from the evidence in the case.”

   14 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Silvern · United States v. Beattie

2. “"(a) Before the jury retires for deliberation, the court may give an instruction which informs the jury: "(i) that in order to return a verdict, each juror must agree thereto; "(ii) that jurors have a duty to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement, if it can be done without violence to individual judgment; "(iii) that each juror must decide the case for himself, but only after an impartial consideration of the evidence with his fellow jurors; "(iv) that in the course of deliberations, a juror should not hesitate to reexamine his *Page 1112 own views and change his opinion if convinced it is erroneous; and "(v) that no juror should surrender his honest conviction as to the weight or effect of the evidence solely because of the opinion of his fellow jurors, or for the mere purpose of returning a verdict. "(b) If it appears to the court that the jury has been unable to agree, the court may require the jury to continue their deliberations and may give or repeat an instruction as provided in subsection (a). The court shall not require or threaten to require the jury to deliberate for an unreasonable length of time or for unreasonable intervals. "(c) The jury may be discharged without having agreed upon a verdict if it appears that there is no reasonable probability of agreement."”

   8 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Spann · Kelly v. State

3. ““Members of the jury, I understand from your most recent note that you have some serious doubts as to whether further deliberations will enable you to return a verdict in this case. In that connection, I want to tell you that it is eminently desirable that if you reasonably can, that you agree upon a verdict in this case. For the parties that are involved, the Government and the Defendant, this case is an important one, and its I>resentation to you has involved expense and expenditure of time by both sides of the case. If you, members of the jury, fail to agree upon a verdict, the case will have to be tried before another jury, selected in the same manner and from the same source as you were chosen. There is no reason to believe that the case will ever be submitted to another jury more competent to decide it than this jury is. Of course, by pointing out to you the desirability of your reaching a verdict, tlie Court is not suggesting to you that you surrender conscientious convictions of what the truth is and of the weight and effect of all the evidence. It does, however, wish to call to your attention that in most cases absolute certainty cannot be expected, although the Government is, of course, required to convince you, by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, of the guilt of the Defendant of every essential element of the crime charged. While each one of you must decide this case for yourself and not merely acquiesce in the conclusions of your fellow jurors, you should ex”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Davis · United States v. Rey