Brooks v. Francis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 federal appellate · 2 district · 5 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 45 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The law of the State of Georgia says that a person commits murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being. Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a fellow creature, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied, the law says, when no considerable provocation appears, and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart. The law, ladies and gentlemen, presumes every homicide to be malicious until the contrary appears from circumstances of alleviation, excuse, or justification, and it is encumbent upon the accused to make out such circumstances to your satisfaction unless they appear from the evidence produced against him.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Brooks v. Kemp

2. “[i]t is ... improper [for a prosecutor] to discuss whether or not our jails are run properly, have adequate security, or allow for multiple escapes. Such is not an issue in the case at hand.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Tucker v. Zant

3. “to simply compare the duties of citizens serving on juries with those of citizens serving in the armed forces.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Bascaro