Neloms v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “When a term is defined in the statute, it need not be further alleged in the indictment. Thomas v. State, 621 S.W.2d 158, 161 (Tex.Crim.App.1980) (opinion on rehearing). However, when an indictment contains a necessary allegation of an act or omission by the accused which, by statutory definition, may be performed in more than one way, but fails to specify which of the statutory definitions is relied upon, the indictment is subject to a motion to quash. Russell v. State, 710 S.W.2d [662] at 663 [ (Tex.App.—Austin 1986, pet. ref'd) ]; see Thomas v. State, 621 S.W.2d at 160 . In this case the indictment pled the statutory element of threatening “to harm another by an unlawful act.” Unlawful is defined in Texas Penal Code Annotated section 1.07(a)(36) (Vernon 1974) as meaning conduct which is “criminal or tortious or both.” Thus, the statute fails to cure the failure in the original indictment to allege the specific facts as to the manner and means, or the specific “unlawful act,” whether crime or tort or both, which appellant was alleged to have committed.”

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