Commonwealth v. Watson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 federal appellate · 10 district · 33 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 46 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““ ‘ “[A] motion for new trial may not be used as a vehicle to compel . . . review and [consideration of] questions of law,” on which a defendant has had his day in an appellate court, or [on which he has] forgone that opportunity. Commonwealth v. McLaughlin, 364 Mass. 211, 229 (1973). While a judge does have the discretion to rehear such questions, this court has recommended restricting the exercise of that power to “those extraordinary cases where, upon sober reflection, it appears that a miscarriage of justice might otherwise result.” Commonwealth v. Harrington, 379 Mass. 446, 449 (1980).’ Fogarty v. Commonwealth, 406 Mass. 103, 107-108 (1989). The rule of waiver ‘applies equally to constitutional claims which could have been raised, but were not raised’ on direct appeal or in a prior motion for a new trial. Commonwealth v. Deeran, 397 Mass. 136, 139 (1986).””

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