Patterson 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. “Thus, “used ... a deadly weapon” during the commission of the offense means that the deadly weapon was employed or utilized in order to achieve its purpose.... Therefore, the court of appeals was correct when it stated that “ ‘used ... during the commission of a felony offense’ refers certainly to the wielding of a firearm with effect, but it extends as well to any employment of a deadly weapon, even its simple possession, if such possession facilitates the associated felony.””

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

2. “... “use” is commonly employed to describe conduct in which the verb’s object, again, in this case a deadly weapon, is utilized in order to achieve a purpose. In other words, the deadly weapon must be utilized, employed, or applied in order to achieve its intended result: “the commission of a felony offense or during immediate flight therefrom.””

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