Commonwealth v. Holloway’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(1) A person who has been charged with a criminal offense and who has been found not guilty of the offense, or against whom charges have been dismissed with prejudice, and not in exchange for a guilty plea to another offense, may make a motion, in the District or Circuit Court in which the charges were filed, to expunge all records including, but not limited to, arrest records, fingerprints, photographs, index references, or other data, whether in documentary or electronic form, relating to the arrest, charge, or other matters arising out of. the arrest or charge.”

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

2. “(1) Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor ... may petition the court in which he was convicted for ex-pungement of his misdemeanor ... record, including a record of any charges for misdemeanors ... that were dismissed or amended in the criminal action. The person shall be informed of the right at the time of adjudication. (2) Except as provided in KRS 218A.275(8) and 218A.276(8), the petition shall be filed no sooner than five (5) years after the completion of the person’s sentence or five (5) years after the successful completion of the person’s probation, whichever occurs later. [[Image here]] (4) The court shall order expunged all records in the custody of the court and any records in the custody of any other agency or official, including law enforcement records, if at the hearing the court finds that: (a) The offense was not a sex offense or an offense committed against a child; (b) The person had no previous felony conviction; (c) The person had not been convicted of any other misdemeanor or violation offense in the five (5) years prior to the conviction sought to be expunged; (d) The person had not since the time of the conviction sought to be expunged been convicted of a felony, a misdemean- or, or a violation[.]”

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

3. “[A] court can use its inherent powers to expunge a record in instances of extraordinary circumstances, such as illegal prosecutions, arrests under unconstitutional statutes, or where necessary to vindicate constitutional or statutory rights.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Southerland v. Commonwealth