14 Va. App. 1009 - Lemons v. Commonwealth’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. “Where “the jury’s estimate of the truthfulness and reliability of a given witness may well be determinative of guilt or innocence,” evidence relevant to truthfulness, reliability, and credibility is as constitutionally material as evidence which goes directly to the question of guilt. Fitzgerald v. Bass, 4 Va.App. 371, 385 , 358 S.E.2d 576, 584 (1987) (quoting Dozier v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 1113, 1118 , 253 S.E.2d 655, 658 (1979), aff'd en banc, 6 Va.App. 38 , 366 S.E.2d 615 (1988), cert. denied sub nom. Fitzgerald v. Thompson, 493 U.S. 945 , 110 S.Ct. 354 , 107 L.Ed.2d 342 (1989)). “It is upon such subtle factors as the possible interest of the witness in testifying falsely that a defendant’s life or liberty may depend.” Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264, 269 , 79 S.Ct. 1173 [, 1177], 3 L.Ed.2d 1217 (1959). The information the Commonwealth failed to disclose was exculpatory and should have been disclosed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 49 Va. App. 524 - Garnett v. Commonwealth