84 So. 3d 968 - Mitchell 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 prosecutor laid the proper predicate for the admissibility of [defendant Brandon D.] Mitchell's November 8, 2006, telephone conversation from the Jefferson County jail. Deputy Carl Carpenter of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department testified about the machine used to digitally record inmates' telephone calls from the jail and how the conversations are stored on an inmate-telephone server. Carpenter's testimony established that he was competent to operate the recording system. Additionally, Carpenter described how the system worked, described how he downloaded the conversation from the inmate-telephone server to a compact disc ('CD'), and stated that the CD accurately represented the telephone conversation that was stored on the server. Carpenter further testified that there were no changes to the recording. The testimony presented at trial further established the telephone call in question was traced to Mitchell's assigned pin number, Mitchell referred to himself as 'Brandon' during the conversation, and Mitchell spoke of details known only by Mitchell. Finally, Carpenter testified that before placing the telephone call, Mitchell was adequately warned that his conversation might be recorded and that Mitchell's statements were voluntary and not part of a custodial statement to lawenforcement officers.”

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

2. ““It is well settled that the ‘State is not required to agree with the defendant that the evidence offered during the penalty phase is sufficiently mitigating to preclude imposition of the death sentence[, and] the State is free to argue that the evidence is not mitigating at all.’ State v. Storey, 40 S.W.3d 898, 910-11 (Mo.2001). Thus, “‘[a] prosecutor may present an argument to the jury regarding the appropriate weight to afford the mitigating factors offered by the defendant.” ’ Vanpelt [v. State], 74 So.3d [32,] 90 [ (Ala.Crim.App.2009) ](quoting Malicoat v. Mullin, 426 F.3d 1241, 1257 (10th Cir.2005)). That is, ‘the prosecutor, as an advocate, may argue to the jury that it should give the defendant’s mitigating evidence little or no weight.’ Mitchell v. State, 84 So.3d 968, 1001 (Ala.Crim.App.2010)(citing Storey, 40 S.W.3d at 910-11 ).””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 233 So. 3d 374 - Largin v. State

3. ““[W]hile, under the facts of a particular case, no single error among multiple errors may be sufficiently prejudicial to require reversal under Rule 45, if the accumulated errors have ‘probably injuriously affected substantial rights of the parties,’ then the cumulative effect of the errors may require reversal.””

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