Wickham v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 1 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Wickham’s sentence was within the statutory limit for burglary and leaving the scene of an accident. § 558.011. Punishment within statutory limits is not cruel and unusual unless it is so disproportionate under the circumstances that it shocks the moral sense of all reasonable [persons]. State v. Whitehead, 675 S.W.2d 939 , 943 (Mo.App.1984); State v. Walker, 618 S.W.2d 43 , 44 (Mo.App.1981). Here the alcohol prohibition was necessarily a condition of probation since Wickham’s alcoholism caused his criminal behavior. Wickham was twice warned that a probation violation would result in his imprisonment. Nevertheless, Wickham did not successfully complete an alcohol treatment program, drank alcohol and operated a motor vehicle other than to and from work. Given these circumstances, the twenty-year sentence is not cruel and unusual punishment. Sincup v. Blackwell, 608 S.W.2d 389 , 392 (Mo. banc 1980).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Wickham v. Dowd