State v. Coleman’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

39 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 39 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Appellant and his codefendant were convicted of the killing of Leon Watson during a robbery, which occurred in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 2, 1979. That morning, Mr. Watson left his home to go to a nearby grocery store. He did not return. At about 10:00 p. m. Mrs. Watson was contacted by a representa tive of the Memphis Police Department and was taken to view a white 1964 Buick automobile, which she identified as being that of her husband’s. Blood was found on the seat and floor of the automobile, and a bullet was found in the left door. Appellant and codefendant Bell were arrested about one hour later on another charge. The next morning, at about 5:15 a. m., both appellant and Bell were advised of their Miranda rights. Appellant then told the officers of finding a body of a black man in a field near Third Street in Memphis. He directed officers to the scene where they found the body of Mr. Watson. Mr. Watson’s empty billfold was on the ground near his body. Items from Mr. Watson’s automobile were strewn around the body, indicating the automobile had been ransacked before it was driven from the scene. Appellant was advised again of his Miranda rights. Thereafter, he confessed to shooting and killing Mr. Watson in Mr. Watson’s automobile. He also admitted going through the victim’s billfold after the shooting, and stated he had removed the C.B. radio from the automobile, but had decided not to keep it. Codefendant Bell, in his statement to the police and in his testimony at the”

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

2. “It may have been to the interest of each [defendant] that he be tried alone, but the orders of the court are molded to protect rights, and not merely the interests, of persons accused of crime. The state, as well as the persons accused, is entitled to have its rights protected, and when several persons are charged jointly with a single crime, we think the state is entitled to have the fact of guilt determined and punishment assessed in a single trial, unless to do so would unfairly prejudice the rights of the defendants.”

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

3. “in reviewing the sentence of death for murder in the first degree, the Tennessee Supreme Court shall determine whether ... the evidence supports the jury's finding of the absence of any mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to outweigh the aggravating circumstance or circumstances so found.”

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