Valdez v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 federal appellate · 49 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 67 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “¶ 58 Appellant further argues he was entitled to an instruction on second degree depraved mind murder under case law which states that the trial court is to instruct on every degree of homicide which the evidence tends to prove. A defendant is entitled to an instruction on every degree of homicide which is a lesser included offense of the primary charge and which is supported by the evidence. Here, second degree depraved mind murder was not a lesser included offense and the evidence did not support the giving of an instruction on second degree murder. ¶ 59 Murder in the second degree occurs when perpetrated by an act imminently dangerous to another person and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual. We have held that this statute is applicable where there is no premeditated intent to kill any particular person. Appellant argues that given the fact he stabbed the victim, only once, with a small pocket knife, and that he did so while he was angry with his father, a reasonable juror could have found that his acts were imminently dangerous and evinced a depraved mind but were committed without the design to effect death. Appellant specifically relies on testimony by the medical examiner that the type of wound suffered by the victim was survivable. ¶ 60 Appellant fails to note that the medical examiner testified that such a wound was survivable only if the victim got to a chest su”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. FREDERICK v. STATE · Phillips v. State

2. “Photographs of homicide victims taken during life should be admitted to the jury only under very limited cireumstances: Photographs of [homicide] victims [taken while alive} are inadmissible unless they are relevant to some material issue and their relevancy outweighs the danger of prejudice to the defendant.... [Where there is no purpose in introducing such pictures into evidence, such admission invokes the sympathy of the jury and constitutes error. (FN83) [ 3 ]”

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

3. “Valdez's assurances over the course of the evening that he understood his Miranda rights, coupled with his objectively verifiable ability to understand and answer the questions posed to him during the final interrogation, provide sufficient proof that he knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights prior to confessing on July 25th, 1989.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Gerardo Valdez v. Ron Ward Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma