Commonwealth v. Ellett’s Empirical Analysis
1939
Citation profile
92 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 94 later decisions — most recently August 2008 · most notably Ansell v. Commonwealth (1979), Prichard v. Battle (1941)
92 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Miller v. Commonwealth · Thompson v. Smith · Smith v. Bryan · Keeney v. Commonwealth · Commonwealth v. Sanderson
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 94 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[f]or the heavier punishment to be imposed by the jury or the court trying the case without the jury, `the prior offense must be charged and proven.'”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““The construction we have placed upon the statute under review is the same as that placed upon it by the officials charged under the law with its administration over a course of years. If we were in doubt, the weight and value of that practical construction would be most helpful in resolving the doubt. Commonwealth v. Sanderson, 170 Va. 33 , 195 S. E. 516 ; South East Public Service Corporation v. Commonwealth, 165 Va. 116 , 181 S. E. 448 ; Smith v. Bryan, 100 Va. 199 , 40 S. E. 652 .””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Anglin v. Joyner““The right of a citizen to travel upon the public highways is a common right, but the exercise of that right may be regulated or controlled in the interest of public safety under the police power of the State. The operation of a motor vehicle on such highways is not a natural right. It is a conditional privilege, which may be suspended or revoked under the police power. The license or permit to so operate is not a contract or property right in a constitutional sense.””
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Prichard v. Battle
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.