Fortney v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

6 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 6 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The purpose of requiring bail bonds is not to enrich the treasury, but to secure the administration of justice. The purpose of the statute in allowing a remission of the whole or a part of the sum specified in the bond, where the defendant is surrendered or arrested before judgment is entered against the bail, is to secure the defendant’s being arrested and brought to justice. The bail has this means of' protecting himself, and an incentive is offered to him to secure the arrest of the defendant. Thus justice is not defeated by the criminal’s flight, and, while the trial may be delayed, the criminal does not escape. “The primary object of the law is to punish the criminal. The bond is allowed to be given for the convenience of a person not yet proved to be gnilty, and to protect the state against the expense of keeping such persons in jail. When the criminal has been arrested promptly, as in this case, it would entirely defeat the purpose of the statute if no part of the penalty of the bail bond is remitted; for, if this may be done, no inducement will be held out to the bail to have the defendant arrested and brought to justice, and it was this that the statute was aimed to secure.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hicks v. Commonwealth

2. ““If, before judgment is entered against the bail, the defendant be surrendered or arrested, the court may, at its discretion, remit the whole or part of the sum specified in the bail bond.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Abrams v. Commonwealth