Moler v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

7 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 7 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The proposition that a jury may infer that a person’s actions before and after a crime are ‘indicative of his actual mental health at the time of the’ crime is logical when dealing with a defendant who is not prone to delusional or hallucinogenic episodes. However, when a defendant has a serious and well-documented mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, one that causes him to see, hear, and believe realities that do not exist, such logic collapses.... ””

   5 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Michael Miller v. State of Indiana · Thompson v. State

2. “indicative of his actual mental health at the time of the”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Thompson v. State · Carson v. State

3. “Here, as in Barany , the medical experts unequivocally testified that Moler was insane at the time he killed the victim. However, lay witnesses testified about Moler’s behavior before the crime occurred. Neil testified that Moler “seemed to be fine” during the afternoon of January 6, 1998. Nina testified that she saw nothing unusual in Moler’s behavior the afternoon before the murder occurred. Jean Sarver testified that her conversation with Moler was normal during the morning drive to Lifespring. Sheri Goode, who gave Moler the injection at Lifespring, testified that “every time” a patient came for a shot, the patient was asked questions about suicidal or homicidal ideas. Goode also testified that nothing unusual was detected during Moler’s January 6, 1998 visit. Lay witnesses also testified about Moler’s demeanor following the attack on Cummins. Captain Stephan, who had known Moler for twelve years, testified that Moler seemed “pretty normal” after the attack. Officer Hartman testified that Moler’s general demeanor was “very calm, very relaxed” except for Moler’s anxiety about not being allowed into the Wright residence to retrieve some cigarettes. Officer True observed that Moler’s demeanor remained calm while Moler told him about how he killed Cummins.”

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