969 So. 2d 744 - State v. Williams’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. “Possession of cocaine is punishable by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both. La.R.S. 40:967(C). Thus, Allen’s five-year sentence was the maximum possible, but his $2,000.00 fine was less than one-half of the maximum possible. Allen received a significant benefit from his plea agreement. In addition to the reduction of two charges, two charges were dismissed, significantly diminishing his sentencing exposure. [[Image here]] Finally, Allen maintains that he is not the worst type of offender and the offense was not the most serious of offenses. He asserts that no one was injured in the crime and that the effect on society, in general, should not be a factor in justifying a maximum sentence. Allen does not refer to any jurisprudence upon which he relies in making this argument. The record reflects that the trial court considered Allen’s Presentence Investigation Report which contained a plethora of information, including his personal, employment, social, and criminal history. The trial court then referred to several of the facts contained in the report at sentencing. Most notable is that Allen is a fourth felony offender. |sThis court affirmed a $1,500.00 fine and the maximum five-year sentence for possession of cocaine in a case in which the defendant had two previous drug convictions, was originally charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and in which the State refrained from ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 54 So. 3d 146 - State v. Gilmore

2. “La. Const, art. I, § 20 guarantees that, “[n]o law shall subject any person to cruel or unusual punishment.” To constitute an excessive sentence, the reviewing court must find the penalty so grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime as to shock our sense of justice or that the sentence makes no measurable contribution to acceptable penal goals and is, therefore, nothing more than a needless imposition of pain and suffering. State v. Campbell, 404 So.2d 1205 (La.1981). The trial court has wide discretion in the imposition of sentence within the statutory limits and such sentence shall not be set aside as excessive absent a manifest abuse of discretion. State v. Etienne, 99-192 (La.App. 3 Cir. 10/13/99) ; 746 So.2d 124 , writ denied, 00-0165 (La.6/30/00); 765 So.2d 1067 . The relevant question is whether |sthe trial court abused its broad sentencing discretion, not whether another sentence might have been more appropriate. State v. Cook, 95-2784 (La.5/31/96); 674 So.2d 957 , cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1043 , 117 S.Ct. 615 , 136 L.Ed.2d 539 (1996).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 54 So. 3d 146 - State v. Gilmore