Irick v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 8 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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “I can't wake her up.” When [the victim's step-father] arrived at the house [Mr. Irick] was waiting at the door. The child was lying on the living room floor with blood between her legs. After ascertaining she still had a pulse, [the victim's step-father] wrapped her in a blanket and took her to Children’s Hospital. Efforts to resuscitate her there failed and she was pronounced dead a short time later. Physical examinations of her body at the hospital emergency room and during the autopsy were indicative of asphyxiation or suffocation. The cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest from inadequate oxygen to the heart. There was an abrasion to her nose near one eye and lesions on her right chin consistent with teeth or fingernail marks. Blood was oozing from her vagina, which had suffered an extreme tear extending into the pelvic region. There were less severe lacerations around the opening of her rectum in which semen and pubic hair were found. These injuries were consistent with penetration of the vagina and anus by a penis. Irick, 762 S.W.2d at 133-34 . After the victim was taken to the emergency room, Mr. Irick left the victim’s home and was located by the police the next day hiding beneath a bridge. When apprehended, Mr. Irick stated: "I have been hiding under the bridge all day, and several police cars have gone by and I had thought about turning myself in.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Irick

2. “In describing his recollection of the events occurring on the day of the murder, [Mr. Irick] stated that when he had arrived at the victim's house, he had gone "out back” to drink beer and had smoked marijuana with a friend. He testified that [the victim's mother] went to work[;] [the victim's step-father] left shortly thereafter[;] and he remained at the house alone with the ... children. He put the children to bed and laid on the couch to watch television. Sometime during the evening, the victim came to the living room and told him that she was sick. [Mr. Irick] told her to “go back and lay down in daddy’s bedroom” because that would be the first place where [the victim's mother] would find her. Later, [Mr. Irick] observed that the dog had come in. He stated that he had wondered how the dog had gotten in and that he had gone to the back door, noticing that something was not right because the back door was "wide open.” He shut the back door and when he passed beside the room in which the victim was lying down, he stated that he observed the victim was not breathing because she always snored. He then called [the victim's step-father] and attempted to conduct CPR on the victim.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Irick

3. “[A] reviewing court must determine whether the defendant has shown that 'the favorable evidence could reasonably be taken to put the whole case in such a different light as to undermine the confidence of the verdict.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tommy Nunley v. State of Tennessee