Card v. Dugger’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

31 federal appellate · 1 district · 11 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 88 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “First, under Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255 , 109 S.Ct. 1038 , 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989), the last state court rendering a judgment in the case must fulfill the "plain statement rule” of Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032 , 1042 & n. 7, 103 S.Ct. 3469 , 3477 & n. 7, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201 (1983) and "clearly and expressly” state that it is relying on waiver as a ground for rejecting the petitioner’s claim. Harris, 489 U.S. at 263 , 109 S.Ct. at 1043 . Second, the procedural rule relied on by the state court must serve as an independent state law ground for denying relief, and may not be intertwined with an interpretation of federal law. Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 , 328, 105 S.Ct. 2633 , 2639, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985); Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 , 75, 105 S.Ct. 1087 , 1092, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). Finally, the state's application of the procedural bar must be adequate. That is, it must not be applied in an arbitrary or unprecedented fashion, such that it thwarts federal court review of those who, "in justified reliance upon prior decisions, seek vindication in state courts of their federal constitutional rights.” NAACP v. Alabama ex rel Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 , 457-58, 78 S.Ct. 1163 , 1169, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Borden v. Allen · Judd v. Haley

2. “In order to determine what evidence might be appropriate, defense counsel has the duty to conduct a reasonable investigation. The failure to conduct any investigation of a defendant’s background may fall outside the scope of reasonable professional assistance. After a sufficient investigation, however, counsel may make a reasonable strategic judgment to present less than all possible available evidence in mitigation.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Cunningham v. Zant · 794 F. Supp. 1106 - Roberts v. Singletary

3. “[E]mphasizing a client's deprived childhood does not have a very beneficial impact on a northwest Florida jury, given the fact that many jurors have had difficult lives, but have not turned to criminal conduct”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Bacon v. Lee · Turner v. Williams