State v. Coats’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. (a) An offender commits the crime of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree if (1) being 16 years of age or older, the offender engages in sexual penetration with a person who is 13, 14, or 15 years of age and at least three years younger than the offender, or aids, induces, causes or encourages a person who is 13, 14, or 15 years of age and at least three years younger than the offender to engage in sexual penetration with another person; (2) being 16 years of age or older, the offender engages in sexual contact with a person who is under 13 years of age or aids, induces, causes, or encourages a person under 13 years of age to engage in sexual contact with another person; (3) being 18 years of age or older, the offender engages in sexual contact with a person who is under 18 years of age and who (A) is entrusted to the offender’s care by authority of law; or (B) is the offender’s son or daughter, including an illegitimate or adopted child, or a stepchild; (4) being 16 years of age or older, the offender aids, induces, causes, or encourages a person who is under 16 years of age to engage in conduct described in AS 11.41.455(a)(2)-(6); (5) being 18 years of age or older, the offender engages in sexual contact with a person who is under 16 years of age, and the victim at the time of the offense is (A) residing as a member of the social unit in the same household as the offender and the offender is in a position of authority ov”

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

2. “[T]his court has consistently expressed the view that sexual abuse of children cannot be condoned. There is a compelling need in such cases to express community condemnation of those who sexually abuse children and to make clear to offenders that conduct is abhorrent to contemporary social norms. In most sexual abuse cases, the young victims are particularly vulnerable to abuse and are as a practical matter incapable of effectively defending themselves. Innocent children who have been the victims of sexual abuse may suffer serious, long-term emotional and psychological injuries; the nature and scope of the injuries is often difficult to predict with accuracy. In almost all cases, a sexual abuse victim must have tremendous courage and determination simply to cope with the emotional trauma involved as the primary witness in the adversary process of a formal prosecution. And often the disruption of normal family life occasioned by a prosecution will lead a youthful victim to feel confused and guilty.”

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

3. “All of these considerations demand that due emphasis be placed on expressing community condemnation of offenders who sexually abuse children; sentences must make it clear to the offender and the victim alike that the offender, not the victim, has committed the crime. Although we think that a probationary sentence may properly be used when a first offender is convicted of a class C felony involving sexual abuse of a child, such a sentence will be appropriate only if mitigating circumstances exist and the offender is a promising candidate for rehabilitation through probationary supervision.”

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