Commonwealth v. Foust’s Empirical Analysis
2018
Citation profile
36 state decisions
Relationships
Applies 28 U.S.C. § 2253 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996) · 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)
Relies on Apprendi v. New Jersey · Escobedo v. Illinois · Teague v. Lane · Atkins v. Virginia · Barefoot v. Estelle
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 36 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“decline[d] to draw a bright line in [ Foust ] delineating what constitutes a de facto LWOP sentence and what constitutes a constitutional term-of-years sentence.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“There are certain term-of-years sentences [that] clearly constitute de facto LWOP sentences. For example, a 150-year sentence is a de facto LWOP sentence. Similarly, there are clearly sentences [that] do not constitute de facto LWOP sentences. A sentence of 30 years to life falls into this category.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[A] trial court may not impose a term-of-years sentence, which constitutes a de facto LWOP sentence, on a juvenile offender convicted of homicide unless it finds, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he or she is incapable of rehabilitation.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage
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.