56 Wash. App. 107 - State v. Pryor’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

21 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “'[T]he length of an exceptional sentence cannot come out of thin air.'”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 72 Wash. App. 207 - State v. Scott · 67 Wash. App. 217 - State v. George

2. “or the sentence will be considered an abuse of discretion. Both holdings, which effectively require a less deferential abuse of discretion standard of review, were the result of fear that judges were thwarting the purposes of the SRA by looking for any aggravating factor as an excuse to impose the maximum possible sentence which was too severe when compared to the seriousness of the offense under the SRA. As stated in Pryor . Unbridled judicial discretion in sentencing is exactly what the SRA was designed to prevent.... The”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 63 Wash. App. 208 - Matter of Personal Restraint of Robles

3. “Consequently, judges in disagreement with the range are finding on inadequate records "aggravating circumstances" to justify the imposition of, in their view, a more reasonable, exceptional sentence. This in turn causes appellate courts to remind trial courts that their dissatisfaction with the standard sentencing ranges imposed under the SRA cannot, by itself, be a reason justifying a departure.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 59 Wash. App. 141 - State v. Grewe