Henry v. Ryan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 federal appellate · 2 district ·

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

1. “Given the similar nature of the mitigation, the additional evidence of Henry's historical alcoholism would have had minimal mitigating value. If the state courts concluded that intoxication with a causal connection to the crime was not sufficient to call for leniency, it is highly doubtful that they would have considered alcoholism without a causal connection to be sufficient.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Spreitz v. Ryan

2. “impose a sentence of death if the court finds one or more of the aggravating circumstances enumerated in [the statute and determines] that there are no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Spreitz v. Ryan

3. “Henry's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was significantly impaired ... because of his consumption of alcohol on the day of the murder.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Spreitz v. Ryan