Hawkins v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““The law in Tennessee is that all homicide is presumed to be malicious, and thus second degree murder, in the absence of evidence which would rebut the implied presumption. (Cases cited). To reduce the degree of the homicide the defense must prove an absence of malice, and a corresponding burden rests on the state to prove premeditation or some other ingredient to raise the degree of homicide. (Cases cited) In Gann v. State, supra, the court stated the law in this manner: ‘The law in Tennessee is that all homicide is presumed to be malicious, in the absence of evidence which would rebut the implied presumption. (Cases cited) Likewise, if a weapon is handled in a manner so as to make the killing a natural or probable result of such conduct, malice will be presumed from the use of the said weapon. (Cases cited) Thus, the proof of the use of deadly weapon is sufficient to sustain a charge of second degree murder unless it is rebutted by other facts and circumstances. (Cases cited)’ ””

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