Commonwealth v. Trunk’s Empirical Analysis
1932
Citation profile
3 federal appellate · 93 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 98 later decisions — most recently September 1985 · most notably Commonwealth v. Ragone (1934), Commonwealth v. Kilgallen (1954)
3 federal appellate · 93 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 Commonwealth v. Colandro · Commonwealth v. Myma · McCarthy v. De Armit · Commonwealth v. Stallone · Commonwealth v. Jones
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 98 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The practice of a judge entering into the trial of a case as an advocate is emphatically disapproved. The judge occupies an exalted and dignified position; he is the one person to whom the jury, with rare exceptions, looks for guidance, and from whom the litigants expect absolute impartiality. An expression indicative of favor or condemnation is quickly reflected in the jury box and at the counsel table. To depart from the clear line of duty through questions, expressions, or conduct, contravenes the orderly administration of justice. It has a tendency to take from one of the parties the right to a fair and impartial trial, as guaranteed under our system of jurisprudence.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“were police officers investigating crime. Their motive, their reason for arresting and holding [the complainant], was a most important part of their defense, because it tended to justify the original act of taking into custody and his detention at least for a certain time.”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. State v. Hembd“a calm and dispassionate one, . . . in expression or tenor a judicial presentation of the case, . . . . a fair and impartial submission of the evidence.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
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.