Commonwealth v. Baird’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 4 district · 13 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““Since St.1879, c. 159, § 1, the public policy of this Commonwealth, as legislatively declared, has included a prohibition against distribution of articles for the prevention of conception. Not until the recent amendment by St.1966, c. 265, § 3, was any exception made in favor of doctors and others who by training or occupation might be deemed to have acquired a special qualification as distributors. The Commonwealth has a legitimate interest in preventing the distribution of articles designed to prevent conception which may have undesirable, if not dangerous, physical consequences. * * * “Therefore, we do not declare that a statute preventing distribution by indiscriminate persons is beyond legislative power. Unlike the legislation in Coffee-Rich, Inc. v. Commissioner of Pub. Health, 348 Mass. 414, 424-426 , 204 N.E.2d 281 , the prohibition in § 21, as applied to the defendant [petitioner] in this case, is directly related to a legitimate legislative purpose. The legitimacy of the purpose depends upon a distinction as to the distributor and not as to the marital status of the recipient.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Baird v. Eisenstadt

2. ““The only word which is affected by this opinion is ‘exhibits’ as it applies to the defendant in giving the lecture. It may be constitutional in its application to others. This does not render it doubtful whether the Legislature would enact the balance of the statute, as in Pedlosky v. Massachusetts Inst, of Technology, 352 Mass. 127 , 224 N. E.2d 414 . In contemplation of the history of the statute, both remote and recent, we do not believe that the Legislature would prefer to have the entire statute fall if under the First Amendment the word ‘exhibits’ cannot stand, nor do we believe that in that circumstance they would prefer to treat as innocuous the other acts set forth in § 21: — selling or lending or giving away or offering to sell, lend or give away any of the prohibited articles.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Baird v. Eisenstadt

3. ““Except as provided in section twenty-one A, whoever sells, lends, gives away, exhibits, or offers to sell, lend or give away * * * any drug, medicine, instrument or article whatever for the prevention of conception or for causing unlawful abortion * * * shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail or the house of correction for not more than two and one half years or by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Baird v. Eisenstadt