749 So. 2d 159 - Williams v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The Court instructs the Jury that a person may not use more force that reasonably appears necessary to save his life or protect himself from great bodily harm. The question of whether he was justified in using the weapon is for the determination by the Jury. The law tolerates no justification and accepts no excuse for an assault with a deadly weapon on the pleas of self defense except that the assault by the defendant on the victim was necessary or apparently so to protect the defendant’s own life or his person from great bodily injury and there was immediate danger of such design being accomplished. The danger to life or of great personal injury must be, or being accomplished. The danger to life or of great personal injury must be, or reasonably appears to be, imminent and present at the time the defendant commits the assault with the deadly weapon. The term “apparent” as used in “apparent danger” means such overt, actual demonstration by conduct and acts of a design to take life or do some great personal injury as would make the assault apparently necessary to self-preservation or to escape great bodily harm.”

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

2. “The Court instructs the jury that to make an assault justifiable on the grounds of self-defense, the danger to Kisha Woods and/or her unborn child must either be actual, present and urgent, or the defendant must have reasonable grounds to believe that Ms. Collum intended to do her and/or her unborn child some great bodily harm, and in addition to this, Ms. Woods must have reasonable grounds to believe that there is imminent danger of such act being accomplished. It is for the jury to determine the reasonableness of the grounds on which the defendant acts. If you, the jury unanimously find that Kisha Woods acted in self-defense, then it is your sworn duty to return a verdict in favor of the defendant.”

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

3. “Whether the court erred in failing to sustain defendant's motion for a *Page 314 directed verdict and/or for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict of the jury and was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 838 So. 2d 309 - Alonso v. State