State v. Lashley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 32 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In determining the punishment to be assessed against the defendant for the murder of Robert Wood, you must first unanimously determine whether one or more of the following aggravating circumstances exists: 1.Whether the defendant was convicted of Forcible Sodomy on July 19, 1990 in the Circuit Court of Clay County of Missouri. 2. Whether the defendant was convicted of felonious restraint on July 19, 1990 in the Circuit Court of Clay County of Missouri. 3. Whether the defendant was convicted of assault in the second degree of Ricky Ellmore on August 16, 1990 in the Circuit Court of Jackson County of Missouri. 4. Whether the defendant was convicted of assault in the second degree of Kelli Anson on August 16, 1990 in the Circuit Court of Jackson County of Missouri. 5. Whether the defendant murdered Robert Wood for the purpose of the defendant receiving money or any other thing of monetary value from Robert Wood. 6. Whether the murder of Robert Wood involved depravity of mind and whether, as a result thereof, the murder was outrageously and wantonly vile, horrible, and inhuman. You can make a determination of depravity of mind only if you find that the defendant, while killing Robert Wood or immediately thereafter, purposefully mutilated or grossly disfigured the body of Robert Wood by acts beyond that necessary to cause his death. 7. Whether the murder of Robert Wood was committed for the purpose of avoiding a lawful arrest of defendant. You are further instructed that the burde”

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

2. “If you decide that a sufficient aggravating circumstance or circumstances exist to warrant the imposition of death, as submitted in Instruction No. 32, it will then become your duty to determine whether a sufficient mitigating circumstance or circumstances exist which outweigh such aggravating circumstance or circumstances so found to exist. In deciding that question you may consider all of the evidence relating to the murder of Willie Richardson. You may also consider: 1. Whether the murder of Willie Richardson was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance. 2. Whether the capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. 3. The age of the defendant at the time of the offense. If you unanimously decide that a sufficient mitigating circumstance or circumstances exist which outweigh the aggravating circumstance or circumstances found by you to exist, then you must return a verdict fixing defendant’s punishment at imprisonment for life by the Division of Corrections without eligibility for probation or parole until he has served a minimum of fifty years of his sentence.”

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

3. “The law is clear that when a jury returns a verdict in improper form, it is the duty of the trial court to refuse to accept the same and require further deliberations until a verdict in proper form is returned. The jury’s verdict is not binding until it is accepted by the court and the jury is discharged.”

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