Barnard v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 37 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 44 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Q [BY PROSECUTOR]: Is that going to cause you such a problem that it might cause you to render something other than a fair and impartial verdict in this case? A. * * * It just makes me think that people don't kill people `cause they want to. I don't know. It makes me extremely confused in any case right now just trying to think what my next door neighbor might get. Q. Are you telling me there is no murder case that the defendant did not want to kill the deceased? A. No. I'm not saying [that]. * * * Q. This defendant is charged with committing a murder in the course of committing a robbery. * * * And don't let me put words in your mouth. You said a few minutes ago you don't believe anyone actually thinks about killing someone when they go in to get the money or doing whatever they do. Is that what you said? A. That's exactly what I said. Q. Is that a fair statement? A. I'm probably prejudiced, but that's what I feel. * * * If they make a habit out of it, if they rob all the time they probably do think, `I'll just kill them if they give me a hard time'; but I don't think that young robbers ... [who] do it because they think they're cool even think about killing people. Like you see on TV, they believe they can get in there and get the money and get out and have a good time with it. I don't think they give it a thought unless they do it day in and day out. Q. The law in the State of Texas is that if you commit a murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit a robber”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. White v. State

2. ““V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 19.-03(a)(2) provides that a person commits capital murder if he commits a murder in the course of committing a robbery. V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 19.02(a)(1) provides that murder occurs when a person intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another individual. Unlike the felony murder provision, V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 19.02(a)(3), there is no transferred intent from a lesser to a greater offense under our capital murder statute. Rather under the capital murder statute, the commission of robbery is simply one of the circumstances which our legislature deemed to make the murder more deserving of the death penalty.” 11”

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

3. ““[t]he Legislature ... has found it appropriate to authorize the imposition of the death penalty in cases in which a murder occurs during the commission or attempted commission of a robbery, which might be completed either by assault or by threat. The significant feature of a robbery offense is that the violence or threatened violence occurs during the course of the commission of theft ... It is this pecuniary motive for robbery-murder that renders it more atrocious. When this legislative purpose is recognized, the fact that robbery and murder might have a shared element becomes irrelevant.””

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