State v. Thornton’s Empirical Analysis
1975
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 16 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 18 later decisions — most recently March 2010
2 federal appellate · 16 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on State v. Stapleton · State v. Wright · State v. Henderson · State v. Rash · State v. Jackson
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 18 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“"The determination . . . requires the application of the well-established rule, as stated in State v. Rash , [ 359 Mo. 215 ,] 221 S.W.2d [124,] at [124] [(1949)]: " '* * * Ordinarily self defense is in the nature of an affirmative defense, and a question for the jury. But whether the state's evidence, which is neither disputed nor contradicted, established self defense so as to make a killing justifiable homicide instead of murder or manslaughter is a question of law for the court. ' (Emphasis added.)" "A further refinement of this rule is found in State v. Jackson , *Page 1285 522 S.W.2d 317 (Mo.App. 1975) and cases cited therein, where the court said, [at 319]: " '* * * But where the evidence is conflicting or of such a character that different inferences might reasonably be drawn therefrom , it is generally a question of fact for the jury to determine whether the accused acted in self-defense in a particular case. (cases cited) * * * Only when all the evidence is undisputed and clear should a court dispose of a murder or manslaughter charge by acquittal without tendering the issue of self-defense to the jury (cases cited). Rarely, then, is self-defense declared by law so as to bar the submission of the homicide offense altogether.' (Emphasis added.)"”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“' "Only when all the evidence is undisputed and clear should a court dispose of a murder or manslaughter charge by acquittal without tendering the issue of self-defense to the jury [cases cited]. Rarely, then, is self-defense declared by law so as to bar the submission of the homicide offense all together.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[Wjhere the evidence is conflicting or of such a character that different inferences might reasonably be drawn therefrom, it is generally a question of fact for the jury to determine whether the accused acted in self-defense * * *.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.