Toncray v. Commonwealth’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““However, this instruction is subject to this qualification: If you believe from the evidence that deceased abandoned the difficulty in defendant’s home and made threats against defendant’s son, Billie Gene, and left by a path leading by the cellar in which defendant’s wife and four children had taken refuge, then defendant had the right to arm himself and go to the protection of his wife and four children and to the protection of Billie Gene if he believed, and had reasonable grounds to believe, his wife and children, or Billie Gene, or any one of them, to be in danger of death or great bodily harm at the hands of deceased; but if the jury believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that at a time when defendant was in no danger to himself, or there was no danger to his wife or to any of his children, real, or to defendant reasonably apparent, at the hands of deceased, the defendant armed himself, after deceased had abandoned the previous difficulty and left defendant’s home, and pursued deceased with the intention of attacking him and thereby made or brought on the danger to himself, if the jury believe from the evidence any such danger existed, then you cannot acquit defendant on the ground of self-defense, or apparent necessity therefor.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burke v. Commonwealth

2. ““ * * * But if the jury believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Albert Clayton Hobbs and the deceased William Thomas Kelly voluntarily engaged in mutual combat with the intention on the part of each to kill the other or to do him great bodily harm, or if you believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Albert Clayton Hobbs, when he was in no danger real or to him apparent, of death or great bodily harm at the hands of William Thomas Kelly or Bill Sloane acting in concert with William Thomas Kelly, began the difficulty by assaulting William Thomas Kelly with a knife and that the defendant thereby brought on any such danger to himself, then in either event the defendant cannot be acquitted on the grounds of self defense.” (Emphasis added)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hobbs v. Commonwealth

3. ““The gist of the rule which deprives one of the right of defending himself if he was the aggressor is the thing that he did, the overt act or hostile demonstration, which provoked the other party rather than the mere fact that he was present at the place or even had sought out the deceased. Roberson’s Criminal Law, Sections 327, 328.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Burke v. Commonwealth