Stockton v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis
1991
Citation profile
3 federal appellate · 101 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 112 later decisions — most recently November 2020 · most notably 705 So. 2d 307 - Holland v. State (1997), Satcher v. Commonwealth (1992)
3 federal appellate · 101 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 Batson v. Kentucky · Faretta v. California · Ohio v. Roberts · Pointer v. Texas · California v. Green
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 112 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[w]e construe the words ‘depravity of mind’ as used [in Code § 19.2-264.2] to mean a degree of moral turpitude and psychical debasement surpassing that inherent in the definition of ordinary legal malice and premeditation. Contextually, we construe the words ‘aggravated battery’ to mean a battery which, qualitatively and quantitatively, is more culpable than the minimum necessary to accomplish an act of murder. [Citation omitted]. It seems to us that these are the only constructions rationally related to the commonly accepted connotation of the prefatory words, ‘outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman.’”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“1. Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor; and 2. Whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“place the blame on this Court for refusing to grant him leave to file a brief in excess of the 50-page limitation”
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.