Cox v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
1984
Citation profile
41 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 41 later decisions — most recently August 2012 · most notably Townes v. Commonwealth (1987), Robinson v. Commonwealth (1986)
41 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 United States v. Agurs · United States v. Nixon · Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States · Winston v. Commonwealth · Bobo v. Commonwealth
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 41 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Article 1, § 8, of the Constitution of Virginia provides that, in criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right “to call for evidence in his favor.” This unqualified right includes “the right to prepare for trial which, in turn, includes the right to interview material witnesses and to ascertain the truth.” Bobo v. Commonwealth, 187 Va. 774, 779 , 48 S.E.2d 213, 215 (1948). See also Winston v. Commonwealth, 188 Va. 386 , 49 S.E.2d 611 (1948). This right applies with equal force to the procurement of documentary evidence. When a defendant seeks disclosure of evidence, the standard to be applied in determining its materiality is whether “a substantial basis for claiming materiality exists.” United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 106 (1976). If materials in the hands of third parties “could be used at the trial,” they are the proper subject of a subpoena duces tecum. Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States, 341 U.S. 214, 221 (1951). In the present case, the Commonwealth virtually conceded some of the bank records were “necessary and material to prove the Commonwealth’s case,” and the defendant produced witnesses, albeit at trial, who testified regarding the materiality of the records. Moreover, the Commonwealth’s witnesses relied in part upon some of these very records.”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“The very integrity of the judicial system and public confidence in the system depend on full disclosure of all the facts, within the framework of the rules of evidence. To insure that justice is done, it is imperative to the function of courts that compulsory process be available for the production of evidence needed either by the prosecution or by the defense.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“the defendant was denied the right `to call for evidence in his favor,' including `the right to prepare for trial ... and to ascertain the truth.'”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.