State v. Murray’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““In the preparation of the crimes act the legislature segregated certain homicides, committed under specified conditions, and called them justifiable. It did the same with certain other homicides, committed under specified conditions, and called them excusable. By this means certain specific killings are exempt from punishment. Conceiving that there may be other killings which ought not to be punished, the legislature then exempted all other homicides which were justifiable or excusable under the common law. . . . “The legislative intention was to punish all homicides which are not justifiable or excusable, either under the statute or under the common law. In providing a scheme of punishments the same method was adopted as in the case of exemptions. A homicide committed under certain specifically enumerated conditions was made punishable as murder in the first degree: Another kind of killing under certain other specific conditions was made punishable as murder in the second degree. Various kinds of homicides, the elements of which are all named, constitute-manslaughter in the first degree, and so with manslaughter in the second, third and fourth degrees. Understanding very well that it had not, in two degrees of murder and four degrees of manslaughter, provided for all punishable killings, the legislature then undertook by section 27 of the crimes act to cover all those'which had not' been specifically provided for. That section reads as follows: “‘Every other killing of a hu”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Custer

2. ““Every person who shall be convicted of an assault with an intent to commit any robbery, rape, burglary, manslaughter, or other felony, the punishment for which assault is not hereinbefore prescribed, shall be punished by confinement and hard labor not exceeding five years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than six months.” (Our italics.)”

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

3. ““ ‘At the common law homicides were of two classes only — those done with malice and called murder, and those done without malice and called manslaughter.’ ””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Navarro