Martinez v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““I don’t have to sit here and tell you that we have a problem with robbery in San Antonio. And in Bexar County, Texas. Headlines on this morning paper, ‘clerk shot in head.’ (Emphasis added.).””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Young v. State · Borjan v. State

2. ““Here the prosecutor, albeit in connection with a plea for law enforcement, clearly injected a matter outside the record which was so harmful and inflammatory that the instruction given by the trial judge could not remove its effect. The reference to the headline of the day’s newspaper, ‘Clerk shot in head’ and the ‘problem in San Antonio’ was not before the jury in evidence, nor was it in answer to invited argument, or a fair deduction from any evidence in the case, or a reference to anything shown remotely connected to the appellant. In our opinion, the argument was manifestly improper and prejudicial, especially since appellant was charged with aggravated robbery, with a deadly weapon, of a store clerk. On looking at the facts of this case, and viewing the probable effect on the minds of the jury, we cannot conclude the error was harmless.””

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