Commonwealth v. Phon’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

29 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 29 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “If any penalty, forfeiture or punishment is mitigated by any provision of the new law, such provision may, by the consent of the party affected, be applied to any judgment pronounced after the new law takes effect.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bolen v. Commonwealth · Furnish v. Commonwealth

2. “[U]pon the unqualified consent of the defendant, a sentence of life without parole may be lawfully imposed for capital crimes committed before July 15, 1998.” Id.); Kinser v. Commonwealth, 181 Ky. 727 , 205 S.W. 951 (1918) (”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Lawson v. Commonwealth · Phon v. Com. of Ky.

3. “When there appears to be a conflict between two statutes, as here, a general rule of statutory construction mandates that the specific provision take precedence over the general. Moreover, it is the Court’s duty to harmonize the law so as to give effect to both statutes. Finally, statutes should be construed in such a way that they do not become meaningless or ineffectual.”

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