Stevenson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

23 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “On the morning of November 13, 1995, the day Heath was to testify at Stevenson’s trial, Stevenson and Manley lay in wait for the unsuspecting victim to merge from his apartment. When Heath appeared, Manley went into action. Manley approached Heath as he was facing the rear of his jeep. Manley walked up behind the unarmed and defenseless victim and pumped five 9 mm copper-jacketed bullets into his body. Upon accomplishing their intended mission of death, the defendants sped from the scene in their futile attempt to elude detection. This Court cannot recall a more chilling and premeditated, execution-style murder than was conclusively proven in this case. A security officer was preparing to go to court to seek redress on behalf of his employer. That this route was short-circuited by his elimination constitutes an attack upon the very foundations of our judicial branch of government. Utter contempt and disdain for the judicial process were evidenced by Manley’s and Stevenson’s premeditated and outrageously cold-blooded assassination of a wholly innocent witness to a crime. Is the most extreme form of punishment warranted in this case? Manley and Stevenson are not hardened criminals. Everything in their backgrounds ostensibly points in favor of mitigation. At the same time, the defendants’ backgrounds offer no excuse for what they did on November 13, 199S. These were not drug-addicted sociopaths off on a rampage. Indeed, Manley and Stevenson are intelligent and gifted young men w”

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

2. “1. The murder was committed against a person who was a witness to a crime and who was killed for the purpose of preventing the witness’s appearance and testimony in a criminal proceeding involving the crime. See 11 Del. C. § 4209(e)(l)g. 2. Defendant Stevenson caused or directed another to commit murder. Defendant Manley committed murder as an agent of another person. See 11 Del. C. § 4209(e)(l)m. 3. At the time of the killing, the victim had provided a police agency with information concerning criminal activity, and the killing was in retaliation for the victim’s activities in providing information concerning criminal activity to a police agency. See 11 Del. C. § 4209(e)(l)t. 4. The murder was premeditated and the result of substantial planning. See 11 Del. C. § 4209(e)(l)u.”

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

3. “Here, both defendants appear to argue that mutually antagonistic defenses are present in this case because the evidence indicates that only one of them committed the lethal act. Neither defendant gave a statement to the police and neither defendant has proffered to this Court what the core of his defense is. In the final analysis, all that the defendants are offering to this Court is the hypothesis that mutually antagonistic defenses exist, without any evidence to suggest that they exist in fact. What seems apparent is the belief of each defendant that his chances for acquittal would be enhanced by severance. That rationale was insufficient even prior to Za-firo v. United States.”

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