Delgado v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 13 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. “Where the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, no matter how strongly the evidence may suggest guilt, a conviction cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The question of whether the evidence fails to exclude all reasonable hypotheses of innocence is for the jury to determine, and where there is substantial, competent evidence to support the jury verdict, we will not reverse.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 25 So. 3d 518 - Jackson v. State · 995 So. 2d 207 - Bigham v. State

2. “Marlene McField was a neighbor of Tomas and Violetta Rodriguez, the victims in this case. In the early evening hours of August 30, 1990, Ms. McField witnessed the Rodriguezes arrive home. Later, at around 10 p.m., Ms. McField remembered hearing dogs in the home directly behind the Rodriguezes’ home wailing in an unusual fashion. The following morning, Ms. McField went to the Rodriguezes’ home and noticed that the gate leading to the Rodriguezes’ front porch was ajar; the key was still in the lock on the inside portion of the gate. Ms. McField removed the key from the gate and entered the front porch area. She then rang the doorbell, but no one answered. Knowing that the Rodriguezes were extremely security-conscious people, Ms. McField became suspicious and summoned the police. When the police arrived, they discovered that the front door was unlocked. The first officer on the scene did not notice any sign of a forced entry. Inside, police secured the bedrooms and living room area first. Nothing in those areas indicated anything unusual. As the police moved toward the kitchen, they noticed a bloodstained knife and a pistol lying on the floor. The kitchen, utility room, and garage did exhibit signs of a possible struggle. The utility room connects the kitchen and the garage. A wooden door leading from the utility room into the garage was cracked in the center and its hinges were broken. Mr. Rodriguez’s body was discovered next to this door, just inside the gárage. His body had b”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Delgado v. Florida Department of Corrections

3. “`circumstantial evidence can be sufficient to sustain a conviction' provided that the evidence is (1) `consistent with the defendant's guilt' and (2) `inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 995 So. 2d 351 - Deparvine v. State