Buford v. State’s Empirical Analysis
1990
Citation profile
2 federal appellate · 4 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Lockett v. Ohio · Coastal Steel Corp. v. Wheelabrator-Frye, Inc. · Hitchcock v. Dugger · Yazoo County Industrial Development Corp. Et Al. v. Suthoff Et Al. · 322 So. 2d 908 - Tedder v. State
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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Many witnesses testified concerning Buford's background. A Lakeland policeman who had patrolled the neighborhood described the squalor and conditions of parental neglect in which Buford had been raised. Both parents beat the children periodically, and neither worked steadily enough to keep the family above the poverty level. Because of his father's alcoholism and his mother's penchant for spending months at a time away from home, Buford was given the responsibility, at an early age, of caring for his five younger siblings. Buford was shown to be an alcoholic who had been drinking heavily and taking drugs since his early teens. Two cousins said they almost never saw him when he wasn’t obviously under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There was also testimony that Buford was intoxicated at the time of the killing. A psychiatrist expressed the opinion that Buford’s ability to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and his ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of law were substantially impaired. He further testified that Buford was-under mental and emotional disturbance throughout his entire life after the first six or seven years. The medical evidence introduced at the original trial corroborated Buford's serious alcohol problem. Despite the heinous nature of the crime, we conclude that there was sufficient mitigating evidence to provide a reasonable basis for a life recommendation.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“the facts ... [are] so clear and convincing that virtually no reasonable person could differ,”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.