Commonwealth v. Wright’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

53 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 53 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Since the inference is permissible, it would have been error for the court to instruct the jury the other way, i.e., that the failure to call the named witnesses could not be considered in evaluating the credibility of appellant’s alibi. Consequently, even though the inference is only permissible, courts are permitted to comment on the possibility of drawing such an inference just as courts are permitted to comment on every other factor which a jury is permitted to consider. However, we must emphasize, at this point, that while it is permissible for a jury to draw adverse inferences as to the credibility of a defendant’s alibi from his failure to call persons he identifies as eye-witnesses, such inferences are not mandatory. Furthermore, such inferences do not affect the presumption of innocence. The Commonwealth must still prove that the defendant committed the crimes alleged beyond a reasonable doubt. Admittedly, if the jury chooses to draw an adverse inference from a defendant’s failure to call named alibi witnesses, his case may be affected because his alibi is not believed. But the credibility of defendant’s testimony is always something which he must consider before he takes the stand. Nevertheless, since any inferences to be drawn are permissible, not mandatory, if a court chooses to charge on this issue, it must be careful not to overemphasize it so as to mislead the jury into believing the inference to be mandatory rather than only permissible.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 377 Pa. Super. 419 - Commonwealth v. Dorman