Commonwealth v. Lewis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 26 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 28 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““When determining whether error in a prosecutor’s closing argument requires reversal, we consider (1) whether the defendant seasonably objected; (2) whether the error was limited to collateral issues or went to the heart of the case; (3) what specific or general instructions the judge gave to the jury which may have mitigated the mistake; and (4) whether the error, in the circumstances, possibly made a difference in the jury’s conclusion.. .. With respect to the fourth factor, we consider whether the jury, to whom we ascribe a certain level of sophistication, would be able to sort out a prosecutor’s excessive claims; and we look to see if the Commonwealth’s case was overwhelming” (citations and quotations omitted).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 95 Mass. App. Ct. 445 - Wahlstrom v. JPA IV Management Co., Inc. · Commonwealth v. Scesny

2. “persistence in pointing a loaded gun at the man who had just wounded him with lethal force [was] circumstantial evidence from which the jury could infer that, at that juncture, the defendant had formed a specific intent to kill”

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