Benson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

144 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 149 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A person commits the offense of aggravated rape if he intentionally or knowingly commits the offense of rape, as hereinafter defined, and he compels submission to the rape by threatening serious bodily injury or death to be imminently inflicted on anyone. * * * * * * A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of his conduct when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result. ****** Mere presence alone will not make a person a party to an offense. A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of another if, acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense, he solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offense. ****** Now, bearing in mind the foregoing instructions, if you believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt !.. and the defendant did intentionally or knowingly compel the Complainant to submit to the said act of sexual intercourse by threatening serious bodily injury or death to be imminently inflicted on the Complainant, you will find the defendant guilty of the offense of aggravated rape, as .charged in the indictment ...””

   8 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Pesina v. State · Lookingbill v. State

2. “"We hold that when a charge is correct for the theory of the case presented we review the sufficiency of the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict by comparing the evidence to the indictment as incorporated into the charge."”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Marras v. State · Jones v. State

3. “"Therefore, we must sustain appellant's contention that evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to show accused possessed the requisite intent to act `in retaliation for or on account of the services of another as a witness.' (Emphasis added.) The complainant, Mary Benson, simply was not, under the facts of this case a witness before an official proceeding. [footnote 2 omitted] The record clearly indicates that she was only a prospective witness against her ex-husband in a pending assault charge."”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Marras v. State · Mireles v. State