State v. Langley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 10 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “"Generally, in Louisiana, if there are curable defects or errors in a defendant's first trial, he will either object and obtain relief or his failure to object will operate to cure the defects or errors. However, if the error or defect is not curable, as in the instant case, the defendant has necessarily not been in jeopardy because of the presence of the error or defect. See La. Code Crim.P. art. 595, cmt.(b). "Our supreme court discoursed on this issue in State v. Goodley , 423 So.2d 648 (La. 1982), wherein it was determined that an illegally obtained manslaughter verdict did not bar retrial for first degree murder based on double jeopardy. Subsequently, in State v. Campbell , 95-1409 (La. 3/22/96), 670 So.2d 1212 , the court held the defendants could be retried for jury tampering after a jury returned an invalid verdict of guilty of attempted jury tampering. Cases such as these which involve an invalid jury verdict or structural error affecting the framework of the trial itself fall outside the general rule articulated in La. Code Crim.P. art. 598. Article 598 provides that when a defendant is found guilty of a lesser degree of the offense charged, the verdict acts as an acquittal of all greater offenses charged in the indictment. However, when a structural error destroys the validity of the proceedings, the trial and resulting verdict are an absolute nullity and can have no effect whatsoever. "The United States Supreme Court addressed the issue in Sattazahn v. Pennsylvani”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Langley v. Prince · Langley v. Prince

2. “). Langley was re-indicted on a charge of first degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Due to overwhelming pretrial publicity, the jury was selected from Orleans Parish, but the case was tried in Calcasieu Parish, where the sequestered jury was housed for the duration of the trial proceedings. After trial by jury, the jury rejected Langley's insanity defense and convicted him of the lesser included offense of second degree murder, a violation of LSA-14:30.1. Langley was then given the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at hard labor. On appeal, Langley argued, inter alia, that the temporary absences of the trial judge from the courtroom during portions of the voir dire examination of prospective jurors, and during closing arguments of counsel, constituted a structural defect in the proceedings, exempt from harmless-error analysis, which required reversal of his conviction and sentence. The court of appeal agreed that "the errors committed by the trial judge, in absenting himself from the proceedings and failing to maintain decorum, were structural errors requiring reversal of the Defendant's conviction without a showing of actual prejudice.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 958 So. 2d 1160 - State v. Langley

3. “). This court granted Langley's writ to review the correctness of that decision. [1] LAW AND ANALYSIS The defendant contends that the court of appeal's ruling violated the federal and state constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy by allowing the state to proceed with a charge of first degree murder on retrial when the defendant has previously been acquitted of first degree murder. The defendant also contends that the court of appeal violated the right to appeal found in the Louisiana Constitution. The state contends that the prohibitions against double jeopardy found in the federal and state constitutions do not prohibit retrial of Langley on a charge of first degree murder. The state argues that, because the defendant's conviction of the lesser-included offense of second degree murder was set aside on the basis of a structural defect in Langley II, that trial was rendered void ab initio. The state asserts that the void trial is akin to one which is "illegally constituted”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 958 So. 2d 1160 - State v. Langley