Commonwealth v. Neely’s Empirical Analysis
1989
Citation profile
54 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 54 later decisions — most recently May 2024 · most notably Commonwealth v. Weiss (1992), 452 Pa. Super. 508 - Commonwealth v. Larsen (1996)
54 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 Commonwealth v. Brady · Commonwealth v. Scott · Commonwealth v. Cleary · Commonwealth v. Stelma · Commonwealth v. Stoner
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 54 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“(3) The law recognizes that a person of good character is not likely to commit a crime which is contrary to his nature. Evidence of good character may by itself raise a reasonable doubt of guilt and justify a verdict of not guilty. (4) You must weigh and consider the evidence of good character along with the other evidence in the case. If on all the evidence you have a reasonable doubt of the defendant’s guilt you must find him not guilty. However, if on all the evidence, you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty you should find him guilty.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Evidence of good character is always admissible for the defendant in a criminal case; it is to be weighed and considered in connection with all other evidence in the cause, it may of itself, in some instances, create the reasonable doubt which would entitle the accused to an acquittal. The rule itself is not merely merciful. It is both reasonable and just. There may be cases in which, owing to the peculiar circumstances in which a man is placed, evidence of good character may be all he can offer in answer to a charge of crime. Of what avail is good character, which a man may have been a lifetime in acquiring, if it is to benefit him nothing in his hour of peril.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“In a case such as this, where there are only two direct witnesses involved, credibility of the witnesses is of paramount importance, and character evidence is critical to the jury’s determination of credibility. Evidence of good character is substantive, not mere makeweight evidence, and may, in and of itself, create a reasonable doubt of guilt and, thus, require a verdict of not guilty.”
2 later decisions 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.