Dean v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In our view, effective counsel must be aware of the possible punishments applicable to his or her client and must be informed and attentive when the trial court’s instructions to the jury embrace such an obviously critical matter. Moreover, our decision in State v. Cook, which emphasized that an erroneous range of punishment instruction similar to that given in this case constitutes reversible error, was decided four years prior to the trial in this case and an effective counsel should have been aware of it. See 816 S.W.2d 322 (Tenn.1991). Dean’s trial counsel nevertheless failed to notice the incorrect jury instruction, failed to be aware of the appropriate ranges of punishment, failed to object to the erroneous instruction during trial, and failed to preserve the erroneous instruction for appeal by listing it in the motion for a new trial. Dean’s appellate counsel likewise failed to raise the issue on direct appeal. All of these functions are basic, yet essential, for preserving and raising errors under our rules of appellate procedure. See Tenn. R.App. P. 3(e). In our view, therefore, the performance of counsel was deficient under the prevailing standards in Baxter and Strickland .”

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

2. “(1) Counsel should confer with his client without delay and as often as necessary to elicit matters of defense, or to ascertain that potential defenses are unavailable. Counsel should discuss fully potential strategies and tactical choices with his client. (2) Counsel should promptly advise his client of his rights and take all actions necessary to preserve them.... (3) Counsel must conduct appropriate investigations, both factual and legal, to determine what matters of defense can be developed.... This means that in most cases a defense attorney, or his agent, should interview not only his own witnesses but also those that the Government intends to call, when they are accessible. The investigation should always include efforts to secure information in the possession of the prosecution and law enforcement authorities. And, of course, the duty to investigate also requires adequate legal research.”

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

3. “It is widely perceived by those who observed the operations of our trial courts in previous times, when juries had the additional responsibility of setting punishment, that often they seemed to find guilt of a crime not necessarily most strongly suggested by the evidence, but one the punishment for which suited their sense of justice for the case. Apparently the Legislature desired to give those charged with crimes the option of making certain that the jury knew the punitive consequences of guilty verdicts in the cases under consideration....”

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