People v. Corlett’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

64 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 64 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““An assault is an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury upon the person of another, “The term ‘violent injury’, as used in this definition, does not require that the injury be a severe one, but includes any wrongful act committed by means of physical force against the person of another even though it entails no pain and leaves no mark. “To constitute an assault, it is not necessary that any actual injury be inflicted, but if an injury is inflicted, that fact may be considered by the jury, in connection with all other evidence, in determining whether an assault has been committed and, if so, the nature of the assault.” (CALJIC 602.) “An assault with a deadly weapon is an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury upon the person of another with a deadly weapon. “A deadly weapon is any object, instrument or weapon which is used in such a manner as to be capable of producing, and likely to produce, death or great bodily injury, “To constitute an assault with a deadly weapon, actual injury need not be caused. The characteristic and necessary elements of the offense are the unlawful attempt, with criminal intent, to commit a violent injury upon the person of another, the use of a deadly weapon in that attempt, and the then present ability to accomplish the injury. If an injury is inflicted, that fact may be considered by the jury, in connection with all the evidence, in determining the means used, the manner ”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. People v. Marceaux · 1 Cal. 3d 444 - People v. Hood

2. ““The court did not err in failing to instruct the jury, on its own initiative, upon the subject of circumstantial evidence. The jury was fully and fairly instructed that the defendant was presumed to be innocent and that the burden of proof of every essential element of the crime rested upon the prosecution to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury was told that the burden did not shift from the prosecution on account of the defendant’s claim that he shot Stafford in self-defense, or otherwise. This is not a circumstantial case. The proof of the assault itself was dependent almost entirely upon the direct evidence of the defendant and the prosecuting witness. Both were examined at great length. There was no occasion to give to the jury an instruction on the subject of circumstantial evidence. The instructions which were given correctly informed the jury upon all of the essential elements of the crime with which the defendant was charged and upon his theory of defense upon which the case was tried. The degree of proof required to support a verdict of conviction applies alike to both circumstantial and direct evidence. (People v. Bailey, 82 Cal.App. 700, 706 [ 256 P. 281 ]; 8 Cal.Jur. 191, § 266.) In the case last cited it is said, ‘The law makes no distinction between circumstantial evidence and direct evidence in the degree of proof required for conviction.’ The prosecution relied, in this case, on direct evidence. Whatever circumstances that appear in eviden”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 122 Cal. App. 2d 638 - People v. Brophy