Easley v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “First, appellate counsel “must file and serve a brief in compliance with Mississippi Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(a)(i)-(4), (7)[.]” [Lindsey, 939 So.2d at 748 (¶ 18) ]. Second, counsel must certify in his or her brief that: there are no arguable issues supporting the client’s appeal, and he or she has reached this conclusion after scouring the record thoroughly, specifically examining: (a) the reason for the arrest and the circumstances surrounding arrest; (b) any possible violations of the client’s right to counsel; (c) the entire trial transcript; (d) all rulings of the trial court; (e) possible prosecutorial misconduct; (f) all jury instructions; (g) all exhibits, whether admitted into evidence or not; and (h) possible misapplication of the law in sentencing. Id. Third, counsel must send a copy of his brief to the defendant, inform the defendant that counsel could not find any appealable issues, and advise the client of the right to file a pro se brief. Id. Fourth, the appellate court will determine, based on its review of the record and any pro se brief filed, if there is any arguable issue. Id. If so, the court will require appellate counsel to submit supplemental briefing on that issue, “regardless of the probability of the defendant’s success on appeal.” Id. Last, “[o]nce briefing is complete, the appellate court must consider the case on the merits and render a decision.” Id.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Michael Taylor v. State of Mississippi