Hatke v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Upon the law of self defense you are instructed that a person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree she reasonable (sic) believes the force is immediately necessary to protect herself against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful force. The use of force against another is not justified in response to verbal provocation alone. A person is justified in using deadly force against another: (1) if she would be justified in using force against the other; and (2) if a reasonable person in the defendant’s situation would not have retreated; and (3) when and to the degree she reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: (a) to protect herself against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. Now if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Audrey Sheppard, did kill the said Delmir Morris Sheppard by shooting him with a gun as alleged, but you further find from the evidence that, viewed from the standpoint of the defendant at the time, from the words or conduct, or both, of Delmir Morris Sheppard, it reasonably appeared to her that her life or person was in danger and there was created in her mind a reasonable expectation or fear of death or serious bodily injury from the use of unlawful deadly force at the hands of Delmir Morris Sheppard, and that acting under such apprehension and reasonable belief that the use of deadly force on her part was immediately necessary to protect herself”

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

2. ““It has been the consistent holding of this court that proof of prior marriages and divorces is not admissible unless such evidence tends to solve some disputed issue in the case . . . . ””

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