Commonwealth v. Johnson’s Empirical Analysis
2012
Citation profile
19
cited by 19 later decisions
1
states following
November 2018
most recently cited
19 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Miranda v. State of Arizona Vignera · Chlorine Institute, Inc. v. Occupational Safety & Health Administration · Miller v. Pate · Commonwealth v. Flebotte · Commonwealth v. Kozec
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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he prosecutor did not focus the jury's attention on a specific element missing from the defense, nor did the prosecutor otherwise suggest to the jury -- either implicitly or explicitly -- that the defendant had an affirmative duty to counter the Commonwealth's evidence against him.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[A] 'prosecutor ... cannot make statements that shift the burden of proof from the Commonwealth to the defendant.' " Johnson , 463 Mass. at 112 , 972 N.E.2d 460 , quoting Commonwealth v. Amirault , 404 Mass. 221 , 240, 535 N.E.2d 193 (1989). "Such burden shifting typically arises where a prosecutor ... 'calls the jury's attention to the defendant's failure to call a witness or witnesses, or ... "to contradict testimony.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“These instructions, to which we presume the jury adhered, see Commonwealth v. Amirault , [ 404 Mass. 221 , 240 (1989) ], effectively neutralized any prejudice produced by the prosecutor's [error].”
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.