Brumfield v. Cain’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 federal appellate · 3 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[W]hether a defendant is intellectually disabled is inherently an intensively factual inquiry. Because intellectual disability is a factual finding, this court reviews a district court’s determination that an individual is intellectually disabled for clear error. A finding is clearly erroneous only if it is implausible in the light of the record considered as a whole. If the district court’s account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety, the court of appeals may not reverse it even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous. The Supreme Court has explained that: When a trial judge’s finding is based on his decision to credit the testimony of one of two or more witnesses, each of whom has told a coherent and facially plausible story that is not contradicted by extrinsic evidence, that finding, if not internally inconsistent, can virtually never be clear error. This court cannot second guess the district court’s decision to believe one witness’ testimony over another’s or to discount a witness’ testimony, and is thus reluctant to set aside findings that are based upon a trial judge’s determination of the credibility of witnesses.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Chester · 239 So. 3d 268 - State v. Robertson

2. “consistent scores across multiple tests over multiple years ruled out malingering”); U.S. v. Nelson, 419 F.Supp.2d 891, 902 (E.D. La. 2006) (finding the”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State of Mississippi v. Kevin Scott

3. “approximately two standard deviations below the mean”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Busby v. Davis