State v. Ortiz’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) Conduct which the actor believes to be necessary to avoid an imminent harm or evil to the actor or to another is justifiable provided that: (a) The harm or evil sought to be avoided by such conduct is greater than that sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense charged; and (b) Neither the Code nor other law defining the offense provides exceptions or defenses dealing with the specific situation involved; and (c) A legislative purpose to exclude the justification claimed does not otherwise plainly appear. [[Image here]] (3) In a prosecution for escape under [HRS §§ ] 710-1020 or 710-1021, the defense available under this section is limited to an affirmative defense consisting of the following elements: (a) The actor receives a threat, express or implied, of death, substantial bodily injury, or forcible sexual attack; (b) Complaint to the proper prison authorities is either impossible under the circumstances or there exists a history of futile complaints; (c) Under the circumstances there is no time or opportunity to resort to the courts; (d) No force or violence is used against prison personnel or other innocent persons; and (e) The actor promptly reports to the proper authorities when the actor has attained a position of safety from the immediate threat.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Pacheco

2. “When jury instructions or the omission thereof are at issue on appeal, the standard of review is whether, when read and considered as a whole, the instructions given are prejudicially insufficient, erroneous, inconsistent, or misleading. Erroneous instructions are presumptively harmful and are a ground for reversal unless it affirmatively appears from the record as a whole that the error was not prejudicial. Error is not to be viewed in isolation and considered purely in the abstract. It must be examined in the light of the entire proceedings and given the effect which the whole record shows it to be entitled. In that context, the real question becomes whether there is a reasonable possibility that error may have contributed to conviction. If there is such a reasonable possibility in a criminal case, then the error is not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and the judgment of conviction on which it may have been based must be set aside.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. KIKUTA

3. “(1) The prisoner is faced with a specific threat of death, forcible sexual attaek[,] or substantial bodily injury in the immediate future; (2) There is no time for a complaint to the authorities or there exists a history of futile complaints which make any result from such complaints illusory; (8) There is no time or opportunity to resort to the courts; (4) There is no evidence of force or violence used towards prison personnel or other “innocent” persons in the escape; and (5) The prisoner immediately reports to the proper authorities when he has attained a position of safety from the immediate threat.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. State v. Pacheco