Ellis v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a lesser included offense instruction should be granted unless the trial judge — and ultimately this Court — can say, taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the accused and considering all reasonable favorable inferences which may be drawn in favor of the accused from the evidence, that no reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty of the lesser included offense (and conversely not guilty of at least one essential element of the principal charge).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 87 So. 3d 1129 - Bolton v. State

2. “Here there is testimony that three individuals were riding in the car together. The driver asks one of the passengers is he about to “do that,” to which the passenger replies that he is about to “do that” now ... the driver asked the first passenger if he had done that, to which he replied in the affirmative ... these facts would allow a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Ellis and Holden had conspired to kill Johnson.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 62 So. 3d 962 - Taylor v. State