Walker v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 22 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 23 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"The judicial amendments to the Indiana Constitution drafted in the 1960s confer a distinct responsibility on the appellate courts: 'the power to review all questions of law and to review and revise the sentence imposed.' Ind. Const. art. VII, § 4. As Judge Najam of the Court of Appeals correctly observed, 'This authority is found in the text of the Constitution and is independent from our general appellate jurisdiction" Bluck v. State, 716 N.E.2d 507, 516 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). Those who framed these provisions had in mind the sort of sentencing revision conducted by the Court of Criminal Appeals in England. Cooper v. State, 540 N.E.2d 1216, 1218 (Ind.1989). The English statute establishing the Court of Criminal Appeals gave the power to review and revise sentences: 'On appeal against sentence the Court of Criminal Appeal shall, if they think that a different sentence should have been passed, quash the sentence passed at the trial, and pass such other sentence warranted in law by the verdict (whether more or less severe) in substitution therefor as they think ought to have been passed, and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal. Id. (quoting Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, 7 Edward 7, ch. 28, § 4(8)). Indiana appellate courts have exercised this responsibility over the last three decades with great restraint, recognizing the special expertise of the trial bench in making sentencing decisions. We have indicated by rule that a sentence will be modified only when it is manifestly un”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. King v. State · McMahon v. State

2. “[allthough the absence of physical injury does not bar an enhanced sentence, this is some distance from being the worst offense or the most culpable offender.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. McCarty v. State · Perry v. State

3. “the two separate counts of child molestation were identical and involved the same child,”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Pierce v. State · Horton v. State