Commonwealth v. Akara’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 19 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 21 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “There was also evidence providing a sufficient basis for an alternative finding: that it was Green who had fired the shots intended to hit Gadsden, and that Akara shared his intent and knowingly participated in the shooting. There was evidence that Green and Akara had a tense exchange with Gadsden on the train. The jury reasonably could have inferred that Akara had passed the gun to Green at some point before the shooting, and that Green clutched the gun in his pocket until the two left the train and Green fired at Gadsden. The jury could have credited Barry’s testimony that, as Green “was coming out of the train, I saw his hand taking something and shooting me.” On this' version of events, the jury reasonably, could have determined that Akara provided assistance to Green by handing him the gun that had been in Akara’s possession; that Akara stood by Green as he fired the weapon at Gadsden; and that Akara and Green fled the scene and continued to work together after the shooting in order to ensure that they would not be apprehended by the police.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 270 F. Supp. 3d 423 - Akara v. Ryan

2. “I told you at the outset of the trial, that the fact ... defendants are seated in front of you and accused of allegedly committing crimes against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not evidence of his or her guilt and it should not be taken as raising any inference of prejudice against him or them .... The fact that somebody is indicted of a crime is not evidence that they committed a crime and should not be considered for that purpose.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 270 F. Supp. 3d 423 - Akara v. Ryan

3. “we ask whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, ‘any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 270 F. Supp. 3d 423 - Akara v. Ryan