Van McDougall v. Dixon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 federal appellate · 1 district · 4 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 44 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the judge’s instructions mandated a sentence of death if the jury found the aggravating circumstances, standing alone, were sufficiently substantial. At the very least, the instruction as given could have been interpreted by the jury to prohibit them from considering mitigating circumstances in their determination with respect to the final issue as to whether or not the aggravating circumstances were sufficiently substantial to call for death.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Smith v. Dixon

2. “There has been no showing that the legal drugs taken by [the attorney] during trial resulted in prejudice to the defendant. Many lawyers and judges are on various forms of medication while attending to their duties in the courtroom, but this is not the test. The appellant must show that the medication affected his attorney in such a way that the attorney could not and did not render adequate legal assistance during the trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 794 F. Supp. 957 - Bonin v. Vasquez

3. “the irrevocability of the death penalty verdict, the mitigating factors in favor of the defendant, Biblical passages in support of mercy, other arguments indicating that the death penalty was not a proper solution for McDougall.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Hunt v. Rc Lee