Braley v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 25 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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “What about malice? Now, this would apply to First Degree Murder. It’s also, as I mentioned, an essential element in Second Degree Murder. First off, I guess foremost, I asked the Defendant in the first place, did you feel malice in your heart, did you feel malice towards David that night. His answer was yes. Malice is defined for you as well. That is Instruction 13. “ ‘With malice’ means the commission of a wrongful act done intentionally without legal justification or excuse. The term malice conveys the meaning of hatred, ill will, or hostility towards another and implies a wicked condition of mind.” When I asked the Defendant if he had ill will towards David, he said yes. When I also asked the Defendant whether he felt hostility towards the deceased — rather, David, he said yes. So the Defendant has told you directly and indirectly that he felt malice. Malice was present. But again, you have to look at all the other facts and circumstances surrounding the killing on that evening, and you also — I would ask you to consider Instruction 27. [The judge] has instructed you that the law requires that all elements of an offense, including malice, must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, however, the element of malice may be inferred by the jury from use of a deadly weapon in a dangerous and deadly manner if the facts and circumstances so allow. The very fact that the Defendant used a .38 on David Anastos is a fact that you can — from which you can infer malice. That is evidence o”

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

2. “Instruction No. 36 Before the defendant may be convicted of any crime, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. Instruction No. 37 The right of self-defense exists only as long as the threatened danger would appear to exist to a reasonable person in the defendant’s position. When the danger would no longer appear to exist to a reasonably prudent person, the right to use force-in self-defense ends. Instruction No. 38 One who has reasonable grounds to believe that another will attack him, and that the anticipated attack will be of such a character as to endanger his life of limb, or to cause him serious bodily harm, has a right to arm himself for the purpose of resisting such an attack. Instruction No. 39 Generally, the right to use self-defense is not available to an aggressor who provokes the conflict. However, if one provokes a conflict but thereafter withdraws in good faith and informs the adversary by words or actions of the desire to end the conflict and is thereafter pursued, that person then has the same right of self-defense as any other person. The person is justified in using force to the same extent that any other person would be- who was acting in self-defense. Instruction No. 40 In order to be considered an aggressor, a person must engage in some sort of physical aggression or communicate a threat of imminent use of deadly force. Instruction No. 41 Even if the defendant had reasonable ground to believe and actu”

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

3. “Inquiry into validity of verdict or indictment. — Upon an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury’s deliberations or to the effect of anything upon his or any other juror’s mind or emotions as influencing him to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning his mental processes in connection therewith, nor may his affidavit or evidence of any statement by him concerning a matter about which he would be precluded from testifying he received, but a juror may testify on the questions whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury’s attention or whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear upon any juror. 3”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Sisneros v. City of Laramie