Small v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “'all persons similarly situated shall be treated alike, both in the privileges conferred and in the liabilities imposed.”

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Matter of ALJ · WW Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Cheyenne

2. “Instruction No. 36 Before the defendant may be convicted of any crime, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. Instruction No. 37 The right of self-defense exists only as long as the threatened danger would appear to exist to a reasonable person in the defendant’s position. When the danger would no longer appear to exist to a reasonably prudent person, the right to use force-in self-defense ends. Instruction No. 38 One who has reasonable grounds to believe that another will attack him, and that the anticipated attack will be of such a character as to endanger his life of limb, or to cause him serious bodily harm, has a right to arm himself for the purpose of resisting such an attack. Instruction No. 39 Generally, the right to use self-defense is not available to an aggressor who provokes the conflict. However, if one provokes a conflict but thereafter withdraws in good faith and informs the adversary by words or actions of the desire to end the conflict and is thereafter pursued, that person then has the same right of self-defense as any other person. The person is justified in using force to the same extent that any other person would be- who was acting in self-defense. Instruction No. 40 In order to be considered an aggressor, a person must engage in some sort of physical aggression or communicate a threat of imminent use of deadly force. Instruction No. 41 Even if the defendant had reasonable ground to believe and actu”

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

3. “You are instructed that a person who provokes or brings about an incident in which he kills his assailant cannot invoke the right of self-defense, unless he, in good faith, retreats as far as he safely can, and making that fact manifest to his adversary. However, an individual who is without fault in bringing about the incident in which he kills his assailant need not restrict his freedom of movement to be where he has a right to be, and he need not retreat. Prior to resorting to deadly force a defendant, if he is the instigator of a fight, has a duty to pursue reasonable alternatives under the circumstances, one of which may be the duty to retreat. If you find that Benjamin Small was the instigator of a fight with [the victim], then Benjamin Small had a duty to retreat as he safely could before using deadly force in self-defense. On the other hand, if you find that Benjamin Small was not the instigator of a fight with [the victim], Benjamin Small had no duty to retreat before resorting to deadly force in self-defense provided that the other elements of the right of self-defense existed at the time as stated in previous instructions.”

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