Commonwealth v. Clark’s Empirical Analysis
1998
Citation profile
17 federal appellate · 89 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 112 later decisions — most recently October 2018 · most notably Commonwealth v. Fahy (1999), Commonwealth v. Freeman (2003)
17 federal appellate · 89 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 Batson v. Kentucky · Griffin v. California · Lockett v. Ohio · Caldwell v. Mississippi · American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance v. United States
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 112 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“To establish ... a [ prima facie ] case [of discrimination], a defendant must show that he is [a member] of a cognizable racial group, and that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of the defendant's race. Second, the defendant is entitled to rely on the fact ... that [the use of] peremptory challenges constitutes a jury selection practice that permits those to discriminate who are of a mind to discriminate. Finally, the defendant must show that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude the veniremen for the petit jury on account of their race. This combination of factors in the empaneling of the petit jury, as in the selection of the venire, raises the necessary inference of purposeful discrimination.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““[tjhat’s the general proposition.... But there are two things I want to mention to you in that regard. First, the Parole Board [Board of Pardons] at any time can recommend to the Governor to commute the life sentence.... And if the Governor grants the commutation ... then the Parole Board may grant parole. So there can be a parole under those circumstances.... That possibility exists.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“actually means in Pennsylvania at the time of the instruction. [1] The prosecutor asked the jury to impose the death penalty”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
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.