932 So. 2d 140 - Walker v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. ““The victim, Bessie Lee Thweatt, was at home on the night of January 5, 2000. The 87-year-old woman lived in the same house in Houston County, Alabama, for the past 67 years. She was petite in stature and weighed approximately 112 pounds. She was known to keep money inside the home and her vehicle. On that fateful night, [Rex] Beckworth and stepbrother, James Earl Walker appeared at the Thweatt home. The outside carport light was broken and the phone lines to the house were cut. The assailant broke the back window and entered the home. Mrs. Thweatt’s blood soaked body was later discovered inside her -home, which had been ransacked. She was pronounced dead at the scene. “After the murder, Walker and Beck-worth went to Motel 6 where Walker’s sister worked, . Beckworth was driving Walker’s .vehicle,- She (Walker’s sister) rented a room to them in-her name at Walker’s request. She saw a .22 caliber rifle in the trunk. A hunter found a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle in the creek at Power Dam. Road. He called the Houston County, Sheriffs department and helped retrieve the gun from the water. A state forensic firearm examiner determined that bullet fragments taken from the Thweatt home were..22 caliber. .However, the bullets were damaged and the .firearm expert could not form an opinion as to a match, although he indicated they were similar. A .22 caliber easing was found at the Thweatt home. The firearm examiner . determined that this casing was fired from the .22 caliber rifle p”

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

2. ““The last witness the State called was Timothy Byrd, who had been incareerat-■ed in the Houston Gounty Jail • with [Walker] after the victim was murdered and to whom [Walker] had allegedly made a statement about his involvement in the murder. . Before Byrd testified, defense counsel objected on the ground that the veniremembers had not been questioned' about him during the voir dire proceedings and on the ground that [defense counsel] had not been given notice of the statement [Walker] allegedly made to him. However, after the prosecutor showed lead defense counsel his initials and a date on Byrd’s statement, lead defense counsel agreed that the State had provided the statement in discovery. [[Image here]] . [D]efense counsel asked for time until- the' next morning to determine how to deal with the situation. In - conjunction therewith, defense counsel asked to have Byrd available for further cross-examination the next day; ■ immediate access to jail records regarding Byrd and [Walker]; a chance to talk to [Walker] after the day’s proceedings and before he was returned to the jail;’ and access to letters or written communications from Byrd to the district attorney regarding providing information about other inmates. The trial court granted the requests., “The next morning, lead defense counsel recalled Byrd and questioned him extensively about his prior convictions; whether he had known [Walker] before they were incarcerated in the Houston County Jail and whether they had had”

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

3. ““[Although defense counsel had not prepared initially for Byrd’s testimony, there is not any indication that that initial lack of preparation prejudiced [Walker]. During his initial cross-examination of Byrd, lead defense counsel thoroughly questioned him about his motive for testifying against [Walker] and about whether he had offered to testify against other inmates. The trial court then gave counsel extra time to investigate Byrd and to prepare to examine him further. During that time, counsel obtained records from the circuit clerk’s office, the district attorney’s office, and the sheriffs department/jail, which they subsequently used in questioning Byrd. The next morning, lead defense counsel questioned Byrd extensively about a pri- or argument and/or altercation with [Walker]; his motive for testifying; his prior convictioris; his prior offers to testify against other inmates; and his repeated attempts to get his sentence(s) reduced. Under these circumstances, we do not find that [Walker] was prejudiced by the initial lack of preparation. « “Because [Walker] was not prejudiced by his attorneys’ initial lack of preparation ...,' he is not entitled to relief under Strickland.””

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