Commonwealth v. Gordon’s Empirical Analysis
1990
Citation profile
3 federal appellate · 85 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 91 later decisions — most recently July 2022 · most notably Logue v. Dore (1997), Felix Sutherland v. Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States (2000)
3 federal appellate · 85 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 Jackson v. Virginia · Commonwealth v. Latimore · Dwyer v. Globe Newspaper Co. · Commonwealth v. Delgado · Commonwealth v. Beckett
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 91 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“"An order to 'vacate the household' ... creates a haven for the abused party in which no further abuse need be feared and provides a temporary, partial separation of the abused and abusive party, thereby leaving fewer opportunities for abusive contact. "Were we to adopt the defendant's definition of 'vacate,' an abusive party, having surrendered occupancy of the household, would be free to return to the house at will. The abused party would have no ability to lessen the abusive party's prerogative to initiate contact and could expect no refuge from the possibility of further abuse. That the Legislature intended the word 'vacate' to include the concept of 'remain away' is demonstrated by the authority of a judge to issue a 'vacate' order for a period of one year. G. L. c. 209A, § 3 ( b )."”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage“In determining the range of activity the Legislature intended to prohibit by authorizing courts to issue orders requiring defendants to 'vacate' the marital home, this court must look to the words of the statute 'construed by the ordinary and approved usage of the language, considered in connection with the cause of [the statute's] enactment, the mischief or imperfection to be remedied and the main object to be accomplished.' ... Chapter 209A, while allowing an order to 'vacate,' provides no particular definition for the term. Webster's New Int'l Dictionary 2810 (2d ed. 1957) defines 'vacate' as '3. [t]o make vacant, as an office, post, house, etc.; to deprive of an incumbent or occupant.' While this definition makes clear the fact that the Legislature intended an abusive defendant to depart from the house, it provides no guidance in either a negative or affirmative direction whether the Legislature intended to require such a defendant to stay away from the house subsequent to the initial departure. The Legislature's intention, however, becomes clear when we consider the 'mischief or imperfection' with which c. 209A is concerned and 'the main object' which c. 209A seeks to accomplish.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage““[T]he occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family or household members: “(a) attempting to cause or causing physical harm; “(b) placing another in fear of imminent serious physical harm.” 7”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. Corrado v. Hedrick
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.