Commonwealth v. McDonald’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “'Conduct is wilful when the actor intends both the conduct and its harmful consequences [and] may be wilful and malicious although its harmful consequences are neither substantial nor highly likely' (citations omitted).”

   4 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Brennan · COMMONWEALTH v. JAMES LEHAN.

2. “(1) the defendant engaged in a knowing pattern of conduct * or speech, or series of acts, on at least three separate occasions; (2) the defendant intended to target the victim with the harassing conduct ... on each occasion; (3) the conduct ... [was] of such a nature that [it] seriously alarmed the victim; (4) the conduct ... [was] of such a nature that [it] would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress; and (5) the defendant committed the conduct ... 'willfully and maliciously.'”

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

3. “The criminal harassment law was passed in response to a perceived loophole in the stalking statute. The * stalking statute expressly included within its reach 'threatening' conduct or acts, but left without remedy those victims plagued by harassment that, although potentially dangerous, did not include an overt 'threat' and thus was not actionable under existing law”

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