991 So. 2d 662 - Watson v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Nothing in the record suggests that race played a role in the arrest or prosecution of Watson. The race of the two arresting officers is not mentioned in the record. The record is quite sparse concerning the racial composition of the entire venire panel, which consisted of approximately fifty people. Of the seventeen members on the venire panel first considered for peremptory challenges by the State for tendering to the defense, nine of those seventeen were African Americans. The State exercised five of its six available strikes. The State accepted and tendered four African American panel members even though it had one remaining peremptory strike. There is no indication in the record of the race of any of the six jurors peremptorily stricken by the defense. Likewise, there is no indication in the record of the race of the final juror excused by the State when it used its last peremptory strike. Needless to say, no information exists in the record to indicate the racial composition of the jury that actually tried Watson.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tameka Smith v. State of Mississippi

2. “although lack of support in the record may be an indication of pretext, 'the basis for the prosecutor's strike need not be in the record.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tameka Smith v. State of Mississippi

3. “If the defendant fails to rebut, the trial judge must base his decision on the reasons given by the State.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Tameka Smith v. State of Mississippi