State v. Hilyard’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “it is immaterial if another instruction, upon retrospect, was also legally and factually appropriate, even if such instruction might have been more clear or more thorough than the one given.”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Ervin · State v. Z.M.

2. “[t]he instructions given were sufficient, meaning that they properly and fairly stated the law and were not reasonably likely to mislead the jury.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Zongker · State v. Z.M.

3. “[p]remeditation requires more than mere impulse, aim, purpose, or objective. It requires a period, however brief, of thoughtful, conscious reflection and pondering—done before the final act of killing—that is sufficient to allow the actor to change his or her mind and abandon his or her previous impulsive intentions.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Coleman · State v. Dotson