Rainey v. Varner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 federal appellate · 2 district · 1 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “An application for a writ of habeas corpus ... shall not be granted with respect to any claim that was adjudicated on the merits in State court proceedings unless the adjudication of the claim— (1) resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Peter Karenbauer v. Jeffrey Beard · 348 F. Supp. 3d 417 - Johnston v. Mahally

2. “[a] habeas corpus petition prepared by a prisoner without legal assistance may not be skillfully drawn and should thus be read generously.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Santarelli · 348 F. Supp. 3d 417 - Johnston v. Mahally

3. “[Appellant] was convicted of first degree murder, for which he is serving a life sentence. The jury also convicted [appellant] of robbery. Assuming that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to establish a shared intent to kill, it was nonetheless sufficient to establish the elements of second degree felony murder. [Appellant] was convicted of robbery, and the evidence clearly established that a death occurred during that robbery, which is sufficient to prove second degree murder under Pennsylvania law. See 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 2502(b) ("A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the second degree when it is committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony."). Under Pennsylvania law, "[a] person who has been convicted of murder of the second degree shall be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment." 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 1102(b) (1995); accord Castle v. Pennsylvania Bd. of Probation & Parole, 123 Pa.Cmwlth. 570 , 554 A.2d 625 , 627 (1989) (holding that a conviction for second degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence under Pennsylvania law). Accordingly, had [appellant] been retried and convicted of second degree murder, he would have received the same sentence.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 2016 Pa. Super. 110 - Commonwealth v. Rainey