Ayers v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

43 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 43 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) the newly discovered evidence was unknown or unavailable to the mov-ant at the time of trial; (2) the movant’s failure to discover or obtain the evidence was not due to lack of diligence; (3) the new evidence was admissible and was not merely cumulative, corroborative, collateral or impeaching, and (4) that its materiality was such as would probably bring about a different result on another trial,”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Buitureida v. State · Simon v. State

2. “In any event, it is not clear that fundamental error was committed. As the panel noted near the end of its opinion, the court charged the jury that if it was convinced appellant was guilty either of murder or voluntary manslaughter, but was not sure of which offense he was guilty; it should resolve any doubt in appellant’s favor and find him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The jury would find itself in the dilemma foreseen by this portion of the charge only if it was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant intentionally or knowingly killed the victim, but was unsure whether appellant had done so while under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause. In that event the jury was properly instructed to convict appellant of voluntary manslaughter. Although inartfully structured, the court’s charge does not appear to be fundamentally defective. [Emphasis added.]”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Coleman v. State