Commonwealth v. Spray’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

24 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 24 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “we consider claims of ineffective assistance to determine 'whether there was an error in the course of the trial (by defense counsel, the prosecutor, or the judge) and, if there was, whether that error was likely to have influenced the jury's conclusion.'”

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

2. “that counsel erred by failing to raise a substantial defense, 'a new trial is called for unless we are substantially confident that, if the error had not been made, the jury verdict would have been the same' [citation omitted].”

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

3. “'Prejudice requiring severance does not arise from the mere fact that the defendant's chances for acquittal of [one or more charges] might have been better' had the offenses been tried separately.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 93 Mass. App. Ct. 1117 - Commmonwealth v. Fernandes