State v. Salgado’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “First, the trial court must determine whether there is a valid legal ground for a downward departure and whether there is adequate factual support for the ground for departure. Second, if there is a valid basis for the trial court to permissibly depart, it must determine whether departure is the best sentencing option for the defendant in the pending case. In other words, the first prong is whether the trial court can legally depart and the second prong is whether the trial court should depart. The trial court’s determination regarding the first prong is a mixed question of law and fact, which will be sustained on review if the trial court applied the correct rule of law and there is competent substantial evidence to support the ruling; whereas the second prong involves a judgment call within the sound discretion of the trial court, which will be sustained on appellate review absent an abuse of discretion.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Ford · State v. Davis

2. “[a] defendant's youthful age alone ... will not justify a departure sentence. There must also be evidence that the defendant is emotionally immature or lacks ordinary intelligence.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 963 So. 2d 281 - State v. Williams · 990 So. 2d 597 - State v. Lago

3. “Cases generally define 'unsophisticated' as the opposite of 'sophisticated,' which in turn is defined as 'having acquired worldly knowledge or refinement; lacking in natural simplicity or naiveté.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Sarah M. Hollinger