Commonwealth v. Duncan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 22 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 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “This exception 'permits the police to enter a home without a warrant when they have an objectively reasonable basis to believe that there may be someone inside who is injured or in imminent danger of physical harm.' " Duncan , 467 Mass. at 749 -750 , 7 N.E.3d 469 , quoting from Commonwealth v. Peters , 453 Mass. 818 , 819, 905 N.E.2d 1111 (2009). "The need to protect or preserve life or avoid serious injury is justification for what would be otherwise illegal absent an exigency or emergency.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 93 Mass. App. Ct. 633 - Commonwealth v. Raspberry

2. “Although the broader 'exigent circumstances' exception generally requires a showing of probable cause, such a showing is not necessary in emergency aid situations, because the purpose of police entry is not to investigate criminal activity.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Hill v. Walsh

3. “Such scenarios [of emergency aid] present one type of 'exigent circumstance' that obviates the need for a warrant”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 92 Mass. App. Ct. 1107 - Commonwealth v. Thach