16 Va. App. 293 - Duff v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 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. “[T]he trial court’s determination that Duffs failure to pay the restitution was neither willful nor the result of fraudulently secreting funds precludes a determination that his failure to pay the restitution was unreasonable. Rather, the court’s determination inexorably leads to the conclusion that Duff simply did not have the ability to pay the restitution. Moreover, the evidence suggests and supports no other determination. Under such facts, we hold as a matter of law that the evidence was insufficient to revoke the sus pended sentence and that the trial court, in so doing, abused its discretion. In reaching this result, we are not unmindful of the conscientious concerns of the trial judge for the victims of Duffs crime, and for Duff, that are patently clear from the record. We share the concern that restitution should be completed within a reasonable period of time. Nor do we mean to suggest that Duffs current financial situation prevents the trial court from imposing alternate means of punishment upon him. Rather, the court is required to consider reasonable alternatives to imprisonment and not merely to automatically revoke the suspended sentence.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 41 Va. App. 356 - Peyton v. Commonwealth

2. “Where the evidence establishes that the failure [to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence] resulted from an inability to [perform] and not a willful refusal, it is an abuse of discretion to automatically revoke the prior suspended sentence without considering reasonable alternatives to imprisonment.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 41 Va. App. 496 - Word v. Commonwealth

3. “Although the power of the court to revoke a suspended sentence granted by ... [Code § 19.2-306] is broad, it is not without limitation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 41 Va. App. 496 - Word v. Commonwealth