McComb v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “1) The petitioner received a two hundred fifty (250) year sentence from the jury; 2) The prior conviction was for a similar offense: a violation of the narcotics laws; 3) As a result of this probation revocation proceeding, the petitioner was sentenced for the only time (at least according to this record) to confinement in the state penitentiary, thus making him an ex-convict and unable to apply for probation in this case; 4) The order of revocation and formal sentence entered in the revocation proceeding contain the recitation that petitioner’s probation was revoked because “ten sticks of cigarettes of marihuana was [sic] removed from his pocket and he was in a high state of intoxication due to the smoking of marihuana and drinking of alcoholic beverages,” such recitation clearly indicating that petitioner was guilty of a third violation of the Texas narcotics laws; 5) During the jury argument at the punishment phase of the trial, the State stressed that petitioner had not rehabilitated himself as a result of his revocation, and specifically argued that “The guy (petitioner) has had three chances ... he has proven to us and prosecution, the people I represent that he cannot be rehabilitated.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ex Parte Flores

2. ““ . . . Next, any error in introduction of a wholly unconstitutional prior conviction at the penalty stage would have been harmless error in view of the circumstances of the offense and other parts of the appellant’s ‘prior criminal record’ validly received into evidence and the penalty itself. See Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250 , 89 S.Ct. 1726 , 23 L.Ed.2d 284 .””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Landers v. State

3. ““ . . . If he was improperly impeached by a void conviction, it could not have influenced the outcome of the guilt stage of the trial in light of the evidence described in the majority opinion and the other six valid prior convictions with which he was also impeached. . . ."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. Landers v. State