Ward 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. “the defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ward v. Neal · Jeffrey A. Weisheit v. State of Indiana

2. “"In Rompilla v. Beard , [ 545 U.S. 374 (2005),] trial counsel failed to examine the court file on Rompilla's prior convictions despite the fact that they knew that the prosecution planned to seek the death penalty by proving Rompilla had a significant history of felony convictions. 545 U.S. 374 , 383-86, 125 S.Ct. 2456 , 162 L.Ed.2d 360 (2005). In Porter v. McCollum , trial counsel did not interview any witnesses or gather any records and thereby failed to uncover any evidence of Porter's mental health or mental impairment, his family background, or his military service. 558 U.S. 30 , 130 S.Ct. 447 , 453, 175 L.Ed.2d 398 (2009) (per curiam). And in Sears v. Upton , trial counsel failed to uncover horrific aspects of Sears's family and social life, that he was learning disabled, and that he suffered frontal lobe abnormalities that resulted in substantial cognitive deficits. 561 U.S. 945 , 130 S.Ct. 3259 , 3262-64, 177 L.Ed.2d 1025 (2010) (per curiam) (5-4). "Unlike these cases, it is clear from the record here that trial counsel conducted a reasonable mitigation investigation. They interviewed Ward, his family members, and others who knew him to gain insight into his background and to develop his history; they also gathered records related to his education, his time in prison, and his mental health. Using the ABA [American Bar Association] standards as a guide, we think that the scope of counsel's investigation was reasonable. See ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Perform”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. McMillan v. State

3. “After weighing the totality of the mitigating evidence [including that produced at post-conviction] against the evidence in aggravation, we conclude that Ward was not prejudiced by any inadequacies in his trial counsel’s performance ... There is no reasonable probability that the additional evidence presented at the PC hearing would have changed the jury’s verdict.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Ward v. Neal