Clay v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

148 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 150 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““If, when all is said and done, the conviction is sure that the error did not influence the jury, or had but slight effect, the verdict and the judgment should stand.... But if one cannot say, with fair assurance, after pondering all that happened without stripping the erroneous action from the whole, that the judgment was not substantially swayed by the error, it is impossible to conclude that substantial rights were not affected____If so, or if one is left in grave doubt, the conviction cannot stand.””

   22 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Atkins v. Com. · Riner v. Com.

2. “[i]n a criminal case, it is implicit that, in order to determine whether there has been `a fair trial on the merits' and whether `substantial justice has been reached,' a reviewing court must decide whether the alleged error substantially influenced the jury. If it did not, the error is harmless.”

   16 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 48 Va. App. 556 - Glenn v. Commonwealth · 45 Va. App. 375 - Gonzales v. Commonwealth

3. “Evidence is relevant if it tends to prove or disprove, or is pertinent to, matters in issue.”

   6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Green v. Virginia State Bar · Riner v. Com.