Commonwealth v. Puleio’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 2 district · 49 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 54 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “should be read to mean only that, as a matter of state law, the case did not pose a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 95 Mass. App. Ct. 406 - Commonwealth v. Mitchell · Joseph A. Puleio v. George A. Vose, Jr., Etc.

2. “Malice aforethought includes any unexcused intent to kill [prong 1], to do grievous bodily harm [prong 2], or to do an act creating a plain and strong likelihood that death or grievous harm will follow [prong 3]. So, in order to convict a defendant of murder in the first degree, other than felony murder, the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant unjustifiably killed another, and that he intended to kill or to do grievous bodily harm to the victim, or that he intended to do ,an act creating a plain and strong likelihood that the victim’s' death or grievous harm would follow.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Avellar v. Dubois

3. “Malice aforethought may be shown by proof that the defendant, without justification or excuse, intended to kill the victim or to do the victim grievous bodily harm.... However, proof of such an intent is not required because malice aforethought may be inferred if, in the circumstances known to the defendant, a reasonably prudent person would have known that according to common experience there was a plain and strong likelihood that death would follow the contemplated act.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Avellar v. Dubois