Nicholson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 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 8 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A]n appreciable period of pain or punishment intentionally inflicted and designed either to coerce the victim or for the torturer's sadistic indulgence. Put another way, torture is the gratuitous infliction of substantial pain or suffering in excess of that associated with the commission of the charged crime.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Gauvin v. State · Ward v. State

2. “[P]roof of infliction of severe physical or mental pain.... alone surely cannot be sufficient. If such were the case, any stabbing or shooting victim would also be tortured. The other aggravators listed in Ind.Code Ann. § 35-50-2-9(b)(ll), ‘burned’ and ‘mutilated,’ further suggest that the legislature intended something more than simply the infliction of severe physical or mental pain to satisfy the torture aggravator. We conclude that the torture aggravator requires something more: an appreciable period of pain or punishment intentionally inflicted and designed either to coerce the victim or for the torturer’s sadistic indulgence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Mark Leonard v. State of Indiana · Leone v. State