855 So. 2d 611 - Jones v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 54 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 57 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “a factor which under Apprendi and Ring need not be found by the jury.”

   14 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Evans v. State · Overton v. State

2. “Appellant claimed that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present a voluntary intoxication defense, and that he was prejudiced because such intoxication negates specific intent, the requisite mental state for first-degree murder. The trial court concluded that trial counsel chose not to present a voluntary intoxication defense as a matter of trial strategy and that appellant failed to establish prejudice, the second prong of Strickland . We agree. This Court has held that it will not second-guess counsel’s strategic decisions about whether to pursue an intoxication defense. Johnson v. State, 769 So.2d 990, 1001-02 (Fla.2000); see Occhicone v. State, 768 So.2d 1037, 1048 (Fla.2000) (holding that “strategic decisions do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel if alternative courses have been considered and rejected and counsel’s decision was reasonable under the norms of professional conduct”). At the hearing below, appellant’s trial counsel testified that he was aware that a toxicology report indicated that appellant’s blood contained trace indications of the presence of cocaine. He stated that he did not pursue a voluntary intoxication defense for several reasons. First, it was his experience that juries did not accept voluntary intoxication as a defense or mitigating factor, especially when the charge is murder. In addition, appellant told counsel that he was not intoxicated at the time of the murders and that he was innocent-i.e., that”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 776 F. Supp. 2d 1323 - Jones v. McNeil · 905 So. 2d 42 - Dufour v. State

3. “Although it is clear that evidence of mitigation was presented at trial, appellant now contends that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing adequately to investigate and present mitigation during the penalty phase. In support of this claim, at the evidentiary hearing appellant presented the testimony of two of his relatives regarding his childhood and of several expert witnesses who had evaluated appellant before his trial but did not testify. The trial court concluded that counsel’s investigation was reasonable and that appellant failed to establish prejudice. Competent, substantial evidence supports this determination. An attorney has a duty to conduct a reasonable investigation for possible mitigating evidence. See Rose v. State, 675 So.2d 567, 571 (Fla.1996). The evidence demonstrates that appellant’s trial counsel fulfilled that duty. Appellant’s trial counsel testified that appellant told him that he was frequently beaten during his childhood, and counsel interviewed several people. The aunt who raised appellant contradicted appellant’s claims. She described appellant’s childhood as largely “idyllic,” as did another of appellant’s close relatives. In addition, one of appellant’s teachers described appellant as a good student, and school records obtained by counsel bore this out. She also said she never saw any evidence of abuse. At the evidentiary hearing, appellant presented the testimony of his sister and cousin to corroborate his claim. Although appel”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 941 So. 2d 1073 - Ponticelli v. State · 776 F. Supp. 2d 1323 - Jones v. McNeil