Commonwealth v. Gouse’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 federal appellate · 4 district · 42 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 59 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “If such evidence is presented, however, the burden is on the prosecution to persuade the trier of facts beyond a reasonable doubt that the defense does not exist”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Harris · 93 Mass. App. Ct. 717 - Commonwealth v. Grafton

2. “In those cases, we concluded that the mere presence of a firearm without more did not furnish probable cause or reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify the seizure of an individual by a police officer in the field; we were not asked to examine the requirements of § 10(a) in the context of the proof necessary at a trial. There is, therefore, no meaningful conflict between the manner in which those cases, and the ones [that include the crime as consisting of only two elements], describe the crime of unlawful possession of a firearm.... Our respect for an individual’s rights under the Fourth Amendment ... against unreasonable searches and seizures on the street has no bearing on the allocation of burdens at trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Powell v. Tompkins

3. “(a) Whoever, except as provided or exempted by statute, knowingly has in his possession ... a firearm, loaded or unloaded, as defined in [ch. 140, § 121] without either: (1) being present in or on his residence or place of business; or (2) having in effect a license to carry firearms issued under [ch. 140, § 131 governing licensure]; (h)(1) Whoever owns, possesses or transfers a firearm, rifle, shotgun or ammunition without complying with [ch. 140 § 129C governing FID cards]....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Powell v. Tompkins