Commonwealth v. Ott’s Empirical Analysis
1965
Citation profile
22 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 27 later decisions — most recently July 1981 · most notably Commonwealth v. Sullivan (1977), Commonwealth v. Archambault (1972)
22 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. Raymond · Commonwealth v. Moyer · Commonwealth v. Patskin · Commonwealth v. Chester · Commonwealth v. Weston
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 27 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The law is correctly stated in Commonwealth v. Chambers, 367 Pa. 159 , 79 A. 2d 201 , where the Court said (page 164): `. . . it is always the privilege and sometimes the duty of a trial judge to express his own opinion, including his opinion of the weight and effect of the evidence or its points of strength and weakness or even the guilt or innocence of the defendant and the verdict which, in his judgment, the jury should render. . . .' See also the following cases, where even a stronger charge than the present charge was approved: Commonwealth v. Moyer, 357 Pa. 181 , 53 A. 2d 736 ; Commonwealth v. Raymond, 412 Pa. 194 , 194 A. 2d 150 ; Commonwealth v. Chester, 410 Pa. 45 , 188 A. 2d 323 . "What is the use of this Court saying that it is sometimes the duty of a trial Judge to express his own opinion of the guilt or innocence of the defendant (provided he tells them that he leaves the question of guilt or innocence to them), and then stating that it is reversible error for the trial Judge to say exactly what this Court said he could say? . . . "I find no error in the Court's charge which many times left the question of guilt or innocence entirely, completely and finally to the jury.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“For the first time, . . . in Commonwealth v. Nafus, 303 Pa. 418 , 154 A. 485 (1931), this Court held that a trial judge may also express an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant. And in many cases since, this right has been reaffirmed, provided 1) that it is exercised fairly and temperately; 2) that there is reasonable ground for any statement the judge may make; and 3) that he clearly leaves to the jury the right to decide all the facts and every question in the case, regardless of his opinion.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage““. . . it is always the privilege and sometimes the duty of a trial judge to express his own opinion, including his opinion of the weight and effect of the evidence or its points of strength and weakness or even the guilt or innocence of the defendant and the verdict which, in his judgment, the jury should render.” Commonwealth v. Ott, 417 Pa. 269, 272-73 , 207 A.2d 874, 876 (1965) quoting Commonwealth v. Chambers, 367 Pa. 159, 164 , 79 A.2d 201, 204 (1951).”
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.