97 Wash. App. 25 - State v. Townsend’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The prospect of applying the death penalty is a staggering responsibility that many prospective jurors would not welcome. As the trial judge noted, when ordinary citizens hear that someone is charged with first degree murder, they are likely to think of the death penalty. The challenged remarks had a benign purpose—to ease jurors’ anxiety that they might be asked to pronounce a death sentence. [Further, advising the jury of the death penalty’s absence] should tend to quell the jury’s natural speculation about the death penalty and, thus, to minimize the number of jurors seeking dismissal from jury service, thereby enhancing the array of potential jurors available to try the case.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Townsend · 142 Wash. 2d 838 - State v. Townsend

2. “[W]e believe that Murphy extends Todd too far in holding that the trial court is prohibited from simply advising prospective jurors that they will not be asked to deal with the death penalty. In our view, such a statement at the outset of voir dire in a first degree murder case does not place “undue emphasis" on sentencing considerations.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Townsend · 142 Wash. 2d 838 - State v. Townsend