Commonwealth v. Jasper’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 26 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 28 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “... [I]t is well-settled under common law and constitutionally as incident to a fair trial without prejudice that defendants appear free from shackles or other physical restraints____ [Nevertheless,] there are exceptional circumstances when the employment of such techniques are [sic] an acceptable practice where such “restraint [is] reasonably necessary to maintain order.” Exceptional circumstances often have been found in sister jurisdictions as well where ... the court has reason to believe that an unrestrained defendant might attack others. ... [W]here the trial evidence shows that a violent defendant was incarcerated at the time of trial, no prejudice occurs even when restraints are visible to the jury. ... [A]n appellant who already had been convicted as a murderer by the same jury could not have been prejudiced at anytime [sic] or circumstances by [the defendant] appearing before them in restraints____ Appellant waived his claims to error by faffing to question the jury on the subject of restraints or to ask for cautionary instructions.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Brown

2. “the rule that challenges to the selection of a jury can be waived by a failure to object appropriately.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Banks v. Horn

3. “[b]ecause our law firmly disposes of the issue of excludability on the merits.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Banks v. Horn