State v. Thompson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 67 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 73 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “On December 29, 1984, Thompson and Joanne McNamara, a juvenile female, traveled by bus from Marietta, Georgia, to Shelbyville in Bedford County, Tennessee. They presented themselves as a married couple at the home of Willa Mae Odum, an acquaintance of McNamara’s family who allowed them to stay. Ms Odum learned the two were not married and asked Thompson to leave, but he remained through the night of December 31, waiting for a relative to wire him funds for a bus ticket. The following morning, January 1, Ms. Odum again insisted that Thompson leave, and she called the authorities to report that Joanne was a runaway. This call apparently prompted their departure. The couple, having little money and no transportation, spent the afternoon at a nearby Wal-Mart store. Late that same afternoon, January 1, 1985, Brenda Lane, a local resident, made several purchases at the Wal-Mart, and did not arrive home when expected. Shortly after midnight her yellow Chevrolet was reported on fire near an apartment building in Marietta, Georgia. Thompson and McNamara were arrested by Cobb County authorities in connection with this investigation on the night of January 2. A traffic ticket in Thompson’s jacket showed he had been cited for speeding, while driving Mrs. Lane’s vehicle, at 8:25 p.m., on Interstate 24 near the Jasper-South Pittsburgh exit, the last exit before the Georgia line. A Wal-Mart receipt and several items in the vehicle indicated a purchase at that store at 5:51 p.m. January 1. A”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Thompson v. Bell

2. “Thompson was arrested on January 2 in Marietta, Georgia, and transported to the local police department. He was advised of his rights, and made an initial admission to an agent of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that he had been in Shelby-ville and bought the vehicle found on fire. It is undisputed that Defendant then invoked his right to counsel and all questioning ceased. T.B.I. Officer Eubank[s] then consulted with a local detective about securing counsel, and Detective Parker called, in turn, a judge and District Attorney General Tom Charron. General Char-ron came to the department and introduced himself to Defendant at 11:30 p.m. According to his testimony, he understood that Thompson had asked to see him. He identified himself as a prosecutor and repeatedly advised Defendant of his right not to speak. He explained that counsel would be appointed at arraignment at eight o’clock in the morning. ... At 1:15 a.m., as he admitted in the hearing, Thompson asked to speak to this attorney again. Attorney General Char-ron re-entered the room, identified himself again, but did not give new “Miranda” warnings. Thompson then, and later, confessed to the kidnapping-stabbing and drew a map to the scene. His statements, the map, and resulting evidence were introduced at trial.”

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

3. “Issue I: The constitutional rights of the defendant, pursuant to Article I, Sections 8 and 9 of the Declaration of Rights, Tennessee Constitution, and under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution were denied defendant by virtue of the appointments of attorneys John W. Rollins and H. Thomas Parsons, when they were disqualified to act as counsel due to their respective representations of Coffee County and Sheriff Bobby McCullough, sheriff of Coffee County- Issue II: The rights of the defendant, Gregory Thompson, to competent counsel pursuant to Article I, Sections 8 and 9 of the Declaration of Rights of the Tennessee Constitution and under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Unit ed States Constitution were denied him by the failure of the court to appoint counsel experienced in both criminal litigation and death litigation, neither Doyle E. Richardson nor H. Thomas Parsons having ever participated in a death penalty case.”

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