State v. Velarde’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 14 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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the evidence is ambiguous and susceptible to alternative explanations, the trial court must give the lesser included offense instruction if any one of the alternative interpretations provides both a rational basis for a verdict acquitting the defendant of the offense charged and convicting him of the included offense. ... [T]his standard does not allow the court in jury cases to weight ] the credibility of the evidence offered by a defendant in support of his or her request for a lesser included offense instruction.... It follows that in determining whether a rational jury could acquit on the greater charge and find guilt on the lesser charge, the court must view the evidence and the inferences that can be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the defendant.”

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

2. “Criminal homicide constitutes murder in the second degree if the actor: (a) Intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another; or (b) Intending to cause serious bodily injury to another, he commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of another....”

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

3. “the inquiry is not whether a judge thinks the defendant should, in fact, be acquitted, but only whether a reasonable jury could acquit on the greater charge and find guilt on the lesser charge.”

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