Peyton v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The judiciary is duty-bound to maintain credibility with the jurors of this Commonwealth. As a matter of policy, the Commonwealth’s courts should not instruct a jury that they have options in relegating a sentence for a criminal defendant, and then take these options away. It is incumbent upon this Court to ensure that the People have confidence in their judiciary. Therefore, if we instruct the jury that they have the power to recommend a sentence with one hand, and then take that decision away from them with the other, we have failed in our task to uphold the mandates and ideals of our Constitution.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Fegley v. Commonwealth · Blackburn v. Commonwealth

2. “With respect to KRS 533.060(2), the General Assembly further addresses the problem of the felons who commit subsequent felonies while on parole, when such a circumstance occurs, two things (according to the statute) occur: (1) The defendant shall not (for the subsequent felony) be eligible for probation, shock probation or conditional discharge, and (2) The length of the persons [sic] sentence (again, for the subsequent felony conviction) shall not run concurrently with any other sentence. By obvious inference, the General Assembly has said that the prison sentence (for the second felony conviction) shall be run consecutively. The General Assembly has rather clearly shown its intention to provide stiff penalties for convicted and paroled felons who commit subsequent felonies while on parole. Parole is, of course, a very special privilege given to prisoners who have evidenced to the parole board, by their conduct and their verbiage, their reliability to have their sentence served out of prison and to comply with whatever condition the board may attach. The General Assembly obviously felt that those parolees who violate this trust by the commission of a felony shall be forced to suffer penalties. Viz — not being eligible for probation, etc., and not having their subsequent sentences served concurrently. To argue that the maximum sentence provision of KRS 532.110(l)(c) is applicable to this subsequently enacted, purposeful statute simply is not correct. The singling out of parol”

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

3. “In Peyton , the Supreme Court noted, [Wje now hold that the logic espoused by Justice Leibson in his dissent [in Devore v. Commonwealth, 662 S.W.2d 829 (Ky.1984)] provides an inherently more practical understanding of [KRS 533.060]. “A reasonable interpretation of the phrase ‘with any other sentence,’ (KRS 533.060(2)) is that ‘any other sentence’ means only the unserved portion of the sentence for the felony for which probation or parole should be revoked.” Devore, 662 S.W.2d at 831 (Leibson, J., dissenting). This viewpoint interprets the language, “shall not run concurrently with any other sentence,” in KRS 533.060(2) as meaning any other sentence previously imposed. (Emphasis added). Thus, it becomes quite clear in the context of KRS 533.060(2), that the language, “the period of confinement for that felony shall not run concurrently with any other sentence,” should be construed as meaning that subsequent felony offense(s) committed while on probation or parole may not be run concurrently with the sentence for which the individual is on probation or parole.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Ware v. Commonwealth