Hernandez v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 36 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 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Particularly where a venireman is shown on the record to be genuinely noncommittal, vacillating, equivocal, or uncertain, we must make allowances for the fact that a judge, trying his qualifications for jury service, had an opportunity to observe his demeanor, intonation, and expression.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. McGee v. State · Foster v. State

2. ““Unlike criminal juries generally, a capital jury is never called upon to assess punishment. In fact, nobody assesses punishment in a capital case. The law has predetermined what the punishment will be depending only upon certain conditions. The jury, as factfinder, only determines whether those conditions exist. The judge then pronounces sentence as the law requires. Neither is vested with any discretion in this regard. Indeed, the discretion was purposefully taken from judge and jury alike by the legislature of this State in order to meet the perceived constitutional requirements of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 , 92 S.Ct. 2726 , 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972). [footnote not included].””

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