Commonwealth v. King’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

31 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 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““A statement is admissible under the spontaneous utterance exception to the hearsay rule if the proponent shows that the statement was made under the influence of an exciting event, before the declarant had time to contrive or fabricate the statement, and that the statement tended to qualify, characterize and explain the underlying event.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Beaz · Commonwealth v. Flynn

2. “"The exception to the hearsay rule which admits hearsay consisting of spontaneous exclamations 'is based on the experience that, under certain external circumstances of physical shock, a stress of nervous excitement may be produced which stills the reflective faculties and removes their control, so that the utterance which then occurs is a spontaneous and sincere response to the actual sensations and perceptions already produced by the external shock. Since this utterance is made under the immediate and uncontrolled domination of the senses, and during the brief period when considerations of self-interest could not have been brought fully to bear by reasoned reflection, the utterance may be taken as particularly trustworthy (or, at least, as lacking the usual grounds of untrustworthiness), and thus as expressing the real tenor of the speaker's belief as to the facts just observed by him; and may therefore be received as testimony to those facts.' Wigmore on Evidence (3d ed.) § 1747."”

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

3. ““[T]he doctrine of waiver by prior testimony ... is based on two pragmatic ramifications of the witness’s prior voluntary, but potentially incriminating, testimony. One is that ‘when a witness has freely testified as to incriminating facts, continued testimony as to details would no longer tend to incriminate.’ [Taylor v. Commonwealth, 369 Mass. 183, 190 (1975)]. The second rationale given in support of the doctrine of waiver by testimony is that ‘allowing the testimony to remain in a witness-selected posture would result in serious, unjust distortion; and the witness, having chosen to answer when he could have remained silent, “cannot be allowed to state such facts only as he pleases to state, and to withhold other facts.” ’ Id., quoting Commonwealth v. Price, 10 Gray 472 , 476 (1858).””

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