497 So. 2d 640 - Acensio v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Abreau stands for the rule that a refusal to instruct on a lesser included offense two steps removed from the offense for which the defendant is convicted is harmless error. ... Believing that the verdict forms conformed to the jury instructions given, the district court found that the instruction on attempted manslaughter (a third-degree felony) provided the required intervening step between the second-degree felony of aggravated battery for which defendant was convicted and the first-degree misdemeanor of battery for which an instruction was denied. The jury’s opportunity, to convict defendant was limited, however, to those offenses for which forms were provided. Since the jury found the defendant guilty of the least serious offense available to them, the Abreau harmless error test does not apply to these facts.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ammons v. State

2. “For example, if a defendant is charged with offense “A” of which “B” is the next immediate lesser-included offense (one step removed) and “C” is the next below “B” (two steps removed), then when the jury is instructed on “B” yet still convicts the accused of “A” it is logical to assume that the panel would not have found him guilty only of “C” (that is, would have passed over “B”), so that the failure to instruct on “C” is harmless. If, however, the jury only receives instructions on “A” and “C” and returns a conviction on “A”, the error cannot be harmless because it is impossible to determine whether the jury, if given the opportunity, would have “pardoned” the defendant to the extent of convicting him on B” (although it may have been unwilling to make the two-step leap downward to “C”).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ammons v. State

3. “Abreau stands for the rule that a refusal to instruct on a lesser included offense two steps removed from the offense for which a defendant is convicted is harmless error.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 618 So. 2d 291 - Cox v. State