50 So. 3d 249 - State v. Prejean’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 881.1(E) requires a defendant to set forth the specific grounds on which a motion to reconsider may be based. Failure to include a specific ground upon which a motion to reconsider sentence may be based “shall preclude ... the defendant from raising an objection to the sentence or from urging any ground not raised in the motion on appeal or review.” Id. In the present case, although the defendant generally raised the issue of excessiveness in his motion to reconsider sentence, he failed to specifically allege that the trial court failed to consider the factors of La.Code Crim.P. art. 894.1. Accordingly, because that claim was not specifically set forth in his motion to reconsider, it cannot be reviewed in this appeal, State v. Landry, 09-260 (La.App. 3 Cir. 11/4/09) , 21 So.3d 1148 , writ denied, 09-2577 (La.5/21/10), 36 So.3d 229 , and our review of the defendant’s sentence is restricted to his bare claim of excessiveness. State v. Mims, 619 So.2d 1059 (La.1993). The sentencing court has broad discretion in imposing penalties for criminal convictions: A sentence which falls within the statutory limits may be excessive under certain circumstances. To constitute an excessive sentence, this Court must find that the penalty is so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our sense of justice or that the sentence makes no reasonable contribution to acceptable penal goals and therefore, is nothing more than the n”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Sinegal · 201 So. 3d 358 - State v. Blunt

2. “Against that backdrop, it is clear that the trial court in the present case heeded those statutory requirements and jurisprudential admonitions. As reflected in the colloquy at the hearing on the defendant’s motion to reconsider sentence, the State, without any assertion to the contrary by the defendant, emphasized that the defendant was more culpable of this crime than his co-defendants. In making that assertion, the State stressed that it was the defendant who approached the victim, entered her home without her permission, brandished the knife, and stole from her. Accordingly, we find our review of the record fully justifies the disparity in the sentences of the co-defendants and exhibits that the trial court truly individualized the sentence to this defendant.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 157 So. 3d 695 - State v. Kato

3. “[d]isparities are inherent in a system where punishment is tailored to fit the defendant and the crime.”

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