Commonwealth v. Buford’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[A]s a prerequisite to the admissibility of prior bad acts evidence, we now require the proponent of the evidence to 'demonstrate that there is a factual commonality between the prior bad act and the charged conduct that is simultaneously similar and so peculiar or distinct that there is a reasonable probability that the two crimes were committed by the same individual.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Leach v. Commonwealth · Jones v. Commonwealth

2. “to qualify as an adoptive admission through silence under KRE 801A(b)(2), the defendant's silence must be a response to statements of another person, the declarant, that would normally evoke denial by the party if untrue.... Nevertheless, when reviewing an application of KRE 801A(b)(2), we remain mindful of Professor Lawson's warning that silence with respect to a statement will always have some ambiguity, which creates a need for cautious use of the concept and thoughtful consideration of the circumstances surrounding that silence.”

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

3. “[S]everal conditions must be satisfied before a statement can be attributed to a party because of silence. A statement may not be admitted as an adoptive admission unless it is established that the party heard and understood the statement and remained silent. Additionally, a statement is not admissible if conditions that prevailed at the time of the statement deprived the party of freedom to act or speak with reference to it.”

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