Brooks v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 31 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 39 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"Further, we cannot say that the appellant suffered any prejudice based on counsel's performance because he failed to demonstrate any evidence of mitigation. Prejudice cannot merely be alleged; it must be affirmatively proved. Duren v. State , 590 So.2d 360 (Ala.Crim.App. 1990). Thus, the appellant has not shown that there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of his trial would have been different, but for trial counsel's performance. Baldwin, Thompson v. State , 581 So.2d 1216 (Ala.Crim.App. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1030 , 112 S.Ct. 868 , 116 L.Ed.2d 774 (1992)."”

   7 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Williams v. State · Pierce v. State

2. “The evidence at trial showed that the appellant and the victim met while working as counselors at a camp in New York state. On December 31, 1992, the victim’s body was found under the bed in the bedroom of her apartment in Birmingham, Alabama. She had been bludgeoned to death, and she was naked from the waist down. On the night before the victim’s body was found, a co-worker of the victim’s saw the appellant enter the restaurant where they worked and saw the victim talking to the appellant. Later that night, the victim spoke with another friend by telephone; that friend heard a male voice in the background and the victim told her friend that a friend was sleeping on her living room floor. A DNA analysis was performed on semen found in the victim’s vagina. The results were compared with the appellant’s blood. There was testimony that the odds of finding another person with the same DNA as the appellant’s and as found in the semen taken from the victim’s body would be 1 in 69,349,000 among white persons.... A latent print of the appellant’s palm was found on the victim’s left ankle. A bloody fingerprint matching the appellant’s was found on a doorknob in the victim’s bedroom, as were two other matching latent fingerprints. The appellant’s thumbprints were also found on a note in the victim’s apartment. The evidence further showed that the appellant was seen driving the victim’s car on the night of December 31 and that he told a witness that he “had to fuck that girl to get that”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Brooks v. Commissioner · Ex Parte Brooks

3. “"MR. BROWN: In that connection I ask Mr. Boudreaux [defendant's counsel], the last thing I said before I sat down was to get up here and tell these people what's the reasonable hypothesis that's consistent with his innocence? That says anything other than he intentionally killed her while he raped and robbed her in her apartment. Have you heard it yet? Of course not. "MR. BOUDREAUX: Your Honor, I am going to object. I don't like to object during Mr. Brown's closing, but as the Court has already instructed the jury, there's absolutely no burden on myself in the case whatsoever. And I ask that he be admonished and the jury curatively charged. "THE COURT: Well, of course, there's no burden of proof on Mr. Brooks, as you well know. Sometimes there are spirited remarks by the lawyers and there's nothing wrong with zeal and enthusiasm. As you well know, statements of counsel is [sic] not evidence. Shall we proceed? "MR. BROWN: Well, have you heard one word in this courtroom since Tuesday morning, one word in this courtroom since Tuesday morning, that causes you to believe there's a reasonable hypothesis of innocence, that is anything except compelling of his guilt from this evidence proposed to you by Mr. Boudreaux in argument or otherwise?"”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Ex Parte Brooks