Clark v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
1988
Citation profile
32 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 32 later decisions — most recently January 2017 · most notably Goins v. Commonwealth (1996), Faison v. Hudson (1992)
32 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 Doe v. Thomas · Goins v. Commonwealth · Nicholaou v. Harrington · Upton v. Commonwealth · Huffman 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“A statement comes within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule and is admissible to prove the truth of the matter stated, when the statement is spontaneous and impulsive, thus guaranteeing its reliability. “There is no fixed rule by which the question whether the statement is admissible as an excited utterance can be decided. Resolution of the issue depends upon the circumstances of each case.” The statement must be prompted by a startling event and be made at such time and under such circumstances as to preclude the presumption that it was made as the result of deliberation. In addition, the declarant must have firsthand knowledge of the startling event. The decision whether the statement qualifies as an excited utterance lies within the discretion of the trial court.”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““A statement comes within the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule and is admissible to prove the truth of the matter stated, when the statement is spontaneous and impulsive, thus guaranteeing its reliability____ The statement must be prompted by a startling event and be made at such time and under such circumstances as to preclude the presumption that it was made as the result of deliberation. In addition, the declarant must have firsthand knowledge of the startling event. The decision whether the statement qualifies as an excited utterance lies within the discretion of the trial court.””
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Under this exception, dying declarations are admissible evidence in homicide cases if they were made when the declarant was “under a sense of impending death, and without any expectation or hope of recovery. Whether so made or not, is a preliminary question to be determined by the court on all the circumstances of the case.” Bull v. The Commonwealth, 55 Va. (14 Gratt.) 613 , 620 (1857). The fact that the declarant was conscious of his condition “may be established otherwise than by the statements of the decedent: as by the character and nature of the wound, his appearance and conduct, etc.” Hill v. The Commonwealth, 43 Va. (2 Gratt.) 594 , 608 (1845).”
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.