State v. Petrone’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘The joinder of several distinct felonies of the same degree constitutes no ground of demurrer or arrest of judgment, and of course cannot be assigned as error in a reviewing court. Wright v. State, 4 Humph. 194 . Separate offenses, punished by different degrees of severity, but differing only in degree and belonging to the same class of crimes, may be united, and often must be to attain the ends of justice; as for example, the offenses of stealing and receiving stolen goods. Hampton v. State, 8 Humph. 69 [47 Am.Dec. 599]; Cash v. State, 10 Humph. 111 ; Ayrs v. State, 5 Cold. 26 .’ In Lawless v. State, 72 Tenn. (4 Lea) 173, 176, 177, the court said: ‘But it has long been settled in this State, in accord with authority, that different offenses punished by different degrees of severity, differing only in degree, and belonging to the same class of crimes, may be united, and it is not error in the Court below to refuse to quash for this reason, or to compel the prosecutor to elect on which of the charges he would proceed: Hampton v. State, 8 Humph. 69 [47 Am.Dec. 599]; Cash v. State, 10 Humph. 111 . A fortiori, where the offense is the same, the several counts being inserted to meet the uncertainty of the evidence; Boyd v. State, 7 Cold. [69] 77; Wright v. State, 4 Humph. 194 ; Hall v. State, 3 Lea [552] 559.’ In Tenpenny v. State, 151 Tenn. 669 , 270 S.W. 989 , it was held that the felony of transporting more than one gallon of intoxicating liquor may be joined in indictment w”

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