Phan v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

30 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 30 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““When the evidence is wholly circumstantial ... all necessary circumstances proved must be consistent with guilt and inconsistent with innocence and exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The chain of necessary circumstances must be unbroken. Nevertheless, it is within the province of the jury to determine what inferences are to be drawn from proved facts, provided the inferences are reasonably related to those facts.””

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

2. ““Where the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged after conviction, it is our duty to consider it in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth and give it all reasonable inferences fairly deducible therefrom. We should affirm the judgment unless it appears from the evidence that the judgment is plainly wrong or without evidence to support it . . . [Code § 8.01-680].””

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

3. “The factfinder need not believe an accused's explanation and, if that explanation is not believed, may infer that the accused is lying to conceal [her] guilt.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Morris v. Com.