2002 Pa. Super. 159 - Commonwealth v. Graham’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In Apprendi , the appellant pled guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and one count of possession of an antipersonnel bomb. A New Jersey trial judge found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the crime was racially motivated and that the state’s hate crime sentencing enhancement applied. [The][a]ppellant was sentenced on one of the firearm possession counts to a 12-year term of imprisonment and to shorter concurrent sentences on the other two counts. The maximum sentence for the firearms count was ten years. A divided New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed. [The United States] Supreme Court reversed, holding that: [o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Smith · 2003 Pa. Super. 49 - Commonwealth v. Ryerson