Commonwealth v. Black’s Empirical Analysis
1978
Citation profile
16
cited by 16 later decisions
1
states following
October 1987
most recently cited
16 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Commonwealth Ex Rel. Washington v. Maroney · Commonwealth v. Dancer · Commonwealth v. Fox · Commonwealth v. Lipscomb · Commonwealth v. Gilman
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 16 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“I say to you, ladies and gentlemen, that the only way you can fail to bring back a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree is if Arthur Bock walks through those doors. Shall we wait?”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“Trial counsel could not have had a reasonable basis designed to effectuate [his client's] interests when he failed to object to [these] prejudicial and inflammatory remarks.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“of directing juries' attention to the rear of the courtroom to wait for the deceased to walk through the door”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.