Clark v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The clear intent and meaning of the instruction is to define for the jurors the law about which they tend to speculate, and to prohibit the jury’s application of the speculative effects that these laws might have upon the appellant. We conclude that the instruction has a beneficially clarifying effect, and is not vague.”

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

2. “(A)ppellant cites no Texas cases prohibiting the regulation of the contents of the jury charges by the legislature. Absent such authority, we apply the presumption that the statutory instruction is valid, and conclude that the instruction is not an unconstitutional legislative encroachment upon judicial power.”

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

3. “(n)either is the required instruction an unconstitutional judicial usurpation of executive power. The ... language merely instructs the jury that it ‘may consider the existence of parole law and good conduct time’ and forbids any attempt to ascertain what effect it may have on any punishment assessed.”

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