Thomas v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
2004
Citation profile
14
cited by 14 later decisions
2
states following
November 2018
most recently cited
14 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Batson v. Kentucky · Bruton v. United States · Hernandez v. New York · Purkett v. Elem · Commonwealth v. Benham
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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Logically, a proper foundation requires the proponent to prove that the proffered evidence was the same evidence actually involved in the event in question and that it remains materially unchanged from the time of the event until its admission. The necessary foundation depends upon the nature of the evidence. Evidence readily identifiable and impervious to change may be admitted solely on testimony that it appears to be the actual object in an unchanged condition. However, the more fungible the evidence, the more significant its condition, or the higher its susceptibility to change, the more elaborate the foundation must be.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“All possibility of tampering does not have to be negated. It is sufficient . . . that the actions taken to preserve the integrity of the evidence are reasonable under the circumstances.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“a finding that the matter in question is what its proponent claims.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.