794 So. 2d 1034 - Phillips v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

24 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A state of violent and uncontrollable rage engendered by a blow or certain other provocation given, which will reduce a homicide from the grade of murder to that of manslaughter. Passion or anger suddenly aroused at the time by some immediate and reasonable provocation, by words or acts of one at the time. The term includes an emotional state of mind characterized by anger, rage, hatred, furious resentment or terror.”

   7 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bradford v. State · Davis v. State

2. “Based on the record, there is insufficient evidence to warrant a manslaughter instruction for either theory submitted by Phillips. The record does not reflect that [Thornton] was using deadly force against Phillips, but instead that [Thornton] pushed Phillips’s hand a few times and Phillips pushed [Thornton] back. The evidence is not sufficient to show that [Thornton] was armed during the course of his argument with Phillips, and [an eyewitness] testified that the two were not physically fighting, but were having a verbal argument. The evidence is insufficient to rise to the level of reducing Phillips’s murder charge to that of manslaughter, and for that reason, Phillips’s conviction and life sentence should be affirmed.”

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

3. “[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 the reasonable inferences which may be drawn in favor of the accused from the evidence, that no reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty of a lesser-included offense (conversely, not guilty of at least one essential element of the principal charge).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 856 So. 2d 561 - Ellis v. State