Stephens v. Kemp a-455’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

28 federal appellate · 8 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 54 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “pending decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Spencer v. Zant.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Stephens v. Kemp · Ford v. Strickland

2. “If the Baldus study is similar to the several studies filed with us in Sullivan v. Wainwright, 464 U.S. 109 , 104 S.Ct. 450 , 78 L.Ed.2d 210 (1983), the statistics in studies of this kind, many of which date as far back as 1948, are merely general statistical surveys that are hardly particularized with respect to any alleged “intentional” racial discrimination. Surely, no contention can be made that the entire Georgia judicial system, at all levels, operates to discriminate in all cases. Arguments to this effect may have been directed to the type of statutes addressed in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 [ 92 S.Ct. 2726 , 33 L.Ed.2d 346 ] (1972). As our subsequent cases make clear, such arguments cannot be taken seriously under statutes approved in Gregg.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McCleskey v. Kemp

3. “Although characterized by the judges of the court of appeals who dissented from the denial of the hearing en banc as a “particularized statistical study” claimed to show “intentional race discrimination,” no one has suggested that the study focused on this case. A “particularized” showing would require — as I understand it — that there was intentional race discrimination in indicting, trying and convicting Stephens and presumably in the state appellate and state collateral review that several times follows the trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McCleskey v. Zant