Thomas v. Clements’s Empirical Analysis
789 F.3d 760 · 2015
Citation profile
8 federal appellate · 2 state decisions
Relationships
Applies 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)
Relies on Strickland v. Washington · Williams v. Taylor · Wiggins v. Smith, Warden · Ylst v. Nunnemaker · Harrington v. Richter
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 17 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“As for the performance prong, because it is all too easy to conclude that a particular act or omission of counsel was unreasonable in the harsh light of hindsight, Strickland directs courts to adopt a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance. The prejudice prong requires the defendant or petitioner to show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceedings would have been different.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“It is not enough to show that counsel's performance had an effect on the outcome or that 'it is possible a reasonable doubt might have been established if counsel acted differently.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Though we often defer to an attorney’s calculated decision to forgo a certain trial strategy, it is undisputed that there was no strategic rationale underlying these errors.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.