Bannister v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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. “Although the jury instructions now at issue were taken either from statutes or the Uniform Criminal Instructions, together they allowed the jury to convict Bannister of first degree child abuse murder even if it found that he did not intend to injure the victim. Considering the context and terms employed in the child abuse murder statute, one cannot be guilty of this crime unless he or she intends to injure, torture, maim or use unreasonable force on a child. These instructions effectively and unconstitutionally relieved the State of its burden to prove all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt.”

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

2. “[a] person commits murder in the first degree when the death of a child results from the willful or malicious injuring, torturing, maiming or using of unreasonable force by said person ... upon the child.” Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 701.7 (C). The mens rea for this crime is met if the person”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Evans v. Ray

3. “implies simply a purpose or willingness to commit the act or the omission referred to. It does not require any intent to violate law, or to injure another. . . .”

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