State v. Dotson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Premeditation means to have thought the matter over beforehand, in other words, to have formed the design or intent to kill before the act. Although there is no specific time period required for premeditation, the concept of premeditation requires more than the instantaneous, intentional act of taking another's life. Premeditation 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.”

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

2. “'makes no showing at all that the order in which the verdict form presents the options has any bearing on the likelihood of a jury reaching one verdict or the other.'”

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

3. “The cumulative-error doctrine does not apply when only one error has been identified.”

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