Shankle v. Woodruff’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 19 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In brief, the question is whether a conviction may, after pardon of the offender, be deemed a prior conviction within the meaning of our statutes prescribing increased punishment for habitual criminals or those previously convicted of crime. We are of the opinion that it may. Our statutes, like most of the acts in other states, are silent on this point. They refer simply to prior “convictions” or to persons previously “convicted,” making no other qualification or explanation save that the defendant must have served a term of imprisonment therefor. This fact would in itself appear to be an answer to appellant’s contention, for if he has suffered prior convictions, he comes within the classification of persons who are to be subjected to heavier punishment for subsequent offenses, and must be so punished. It is immaterial that the statutes do not expressly refer to persons pardoned after conviction, since -by failure to exclude them, they are obviously included within the general provisions. This is a necessary conclusion from the language of the statutes, and it is determinative of the present case unless there is something in the nature of a pardon which compels a different interpretation. It should be borne in mind, in this connection, that the question is solely one of the legislative intent; the constitutional power of the Legislature to impose a heavier penalty for the subsequent conviction, despite a prior pardon, is settled. ... It is universally established that a pardo”

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