Commonwealth v. Russell’s Empirical Analysis
1978
Citation profile
31 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 33 later decisions — most recently September 1991 · most notably Commonwealth v. Smith (1983), State v. Rhoades (1991)
31 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on In the Matter of Samuel Winship · United States v. Nolte · 29 Ill. App. 3d 884 - People v. Legear · Commonwealth v. Griffin
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 33 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““[Ajfter reviewing all of the evidence [if] you conclude that Mrs. Heath did participate in some or all of the offenses charged as an accomplice, then in considering her testimony, you should be guided by certain principles which apply specifically to her testimony. The same, of course, would be true of any person who you find served as an accomplice in the case. In deciding whether or not to believe Mrs. Heath and/or Mr. Daugherty, you should be guided by the following principles. First, the testimony of Mrs. Heath and Mr. Daugherty should be looked upon with disfavor if you decide that either or both was an accomplice because it comes from a corrupt and polluted source. Secondly, you should examine their testimony closely and accept it only with caution and care. Thirdly, you should consider whether their testimony is supported in whole or in part by other evidence aside from his or her own testimony for if it is supported by independent evidence, then it, of course, is more dependent. And finally, you may believe one or the other or both even though it is not supported by other evidence. You, the Jurors, of course, determine that.” (N.T. 271).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent“. . . feelings of friendship, loyalty or even fear of future revenge. . . such a person moreover, would have nothing to lose by lying for a colleague, having already been convicted and sentenced himself.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent“with disfavor because it comes from a corrupt and polluted source.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
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.