Dixon v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 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 2 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “On August 22, 2003, authorities with the Indianola Police Department received a tip that Jerry Ford and Tracy Dixon were leaving Ford's residence in a blue Mazda and that they would be carrying illegal drugs. Officer Ronald Ragon, driving in a marked patrol car, spotted the blue Mazda and turned on his blue lights in order to pull the car over. Upon stopping the Mazda, Officer Ragon was joined by a patrol car containing officers Edrick Hall and Tony Cooper. When the second patrol car arrived, the three occupants of the Mazda—Ford, Dixon, and Markeita Echols—exited the car and fled on foot. Officer Edrick Hall began a foot pursuit of Ford, while Cooper pursued Dixon on foot. Officer Hall testified that, while he was pursuing Ford, Ford fell when he attempted to jump over a row of hedges. Hall testified that at this point, he observed Ford tossing an object from his body onto the ground nearby. Hall testified that before he ultimately apprehended Ford, Ford stopped and bent down in a wooded area. After securing Ford, Hall returned to the area where he saw Ford throw the object, and recovered a package containing what later proved to be thirteen or fourteen individually wrapped rocks of crack cocaine. Testimony by Theresa Hickmon of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory established that the cocaine weighed a total of 13.5 grams. Hall testified that the cocaine had a street value of approximately $1,400; furthermore, both Hall and Cooper testified that the packaging of the cocaine ind”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 953 So. 2d 1108 - Dixon v. State

2. “When reviewing the denial of a motion for new trial based on an objection to the weight of the evidence, this Court will only reverse a verdict when it is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction an unconscionable injustice. Bush v. State, 895 So.2d 836, 844 (¶ 18) (Miss.2005). In making our determination, this Court is required to Anew the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict; we will grant a new trial “only in exceptional cases in which the evidence preponderates heavily against the verdict.” Id. However, in considering whether the evidence is legally sufficient to sustain a conviction in the face of a motion for [a] JNOV, our inquiry is “whether the evidence shows ‘beyond a reasonable doubt that [the] accused committed the act charged, and that he did so under such circumstances that every element of the offense existed.’ ” Id. at 843 (¶ 16) (quoting Carr v. State, 208 So.2d 886, 889 (Miss.1968)). The critical question in dealing -with such an issue is whether, “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. We will deem the evidence sufficient if the evidence against the defendant is such that “reasonable fair-minded men in the exercise of impartial judgment might reach different conclusions on every element of the offense.” Id.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 5 So. 3d 1178 - Thames v. State