Williams v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 federal appellate · 8 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A] person acts "recklessly” with respect to a ... circumstance described by a provision of law defining an offense when the person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the ... circumstance exists; the risk must be of such a nature and degree that disregard of it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation____”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Walker v. Endell · Panther v. Hames

2. “We believe that the indictment adequately informed Williams of the offense with which he was charged and [we] therefore find no due process viola-tion_ AS 11.46.110(b) provides that: (b) an accusation of theft is sufficient if it alleges that the defendant committed theft of property or services of the nature or value required for the commission of the crime charged without designating the particular way or manner in which the theft was committed. ... [Under] this statutory scheme[,] a person charged with theft is put on notice that he may be convicted of theft under different theories. The accused is not without remedies in finding out more specifically the crime with which he is charged. He has access to the record of the grand jury proceeding. ... An accused can also ask for a bill of particulars.... Liberal discovery of the state’s case is also permitted.... Given these liberal discovery rules, we conclude that an accused does have the ability to obtain adequate discovery of the state’s case and to get adequate notice of the state’s theory or theories of prosecution. We therefore find no merit to Williams’ attack on the indictment.”

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

3. “Under the Revised Code, a charge of theft is sufficient without designating the particular means by which the property was obtained.... The necessity for this section was acknowledged by the primary drafter of the Oregon Revised Criminal Code. [D]espite the substantial consolidation of theft offenses, the tendency to cling to the old categories is so strong that it is considered advisable to state expressly what logically follows [from the legal consolidation].... [T]he state will not be required in most cases to designate the particular way or manner in which the crime was committed. A general allegation that the defendant committed theft of property of the nature or value required ... will be supportable by proof that he engaged in conduct constituting theft as defined by the Revised Code. The proof might be that the defendant engaged in conduct amounting to common law larceny, “embezzlement”, “theft by receiving”, or some other type of thievish conduct.”

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