State v. Stephens’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 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 1 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A review of the attachments to the trial court's ruling on the 3.850 motion, together with the record of the evidentiary hearing, reveals that there was indeed confusion concerning when Stephens received the bruises depicted in the photographs. Stephens' counsel probably was less than effective in presenting this evidence or in cross-examining Dr. Wilks. Nevertheless, to prevail on a 3.850 motion, the defendant must prove not only that his attorney made errors so serious that he could not be said to have been acting truly as his "counsel," the defendant must also establish that "counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable." Rose v. State, 675 So.2d 567, 569 (Fla. 1996) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). Our assessment of the evidence leads us to the conclusion that any alleged, deficiency on the part of Stephens' counsel did not affect the fairness and reliability of the trial so as to undermine confidence in the outcome. See Kennedy v. State, 547 So.2d 912 (Fla.1989). Our conclusion is only bolstered by the extremely weak nature of Stephens' questionable police brutality defense, which was uncorroborated by any other evidence.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 748 So. 2d 1028 - Stephens v. State

2. “prejudiced the Defendant to the extent the Defendant was deprived of a fair trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 748 So. 2d 1028 - Stephens v. State