2003 Pa. Super. 178 - Commonwealth v. Keller’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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

1. “When the Commonwealth appeals from a suppression order, we follow a clearly defined standard of review and consider only the evidence from the defendant’s witnesses together with the evidence of the prosecution that, when read in the context of the entire record, remains uncontradicted. The suppression court’s findings of fact bind an appellate court if the record supports those findings. The suppression court’s conclusions of law, however, are not binding on an appellate court, whose duty is to determine if the suppression court properly applied the law to the facts.”

   12 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2004 Pa. Super. 264 - Commonwealth v. Ruey · 2004 Pa. Super. 28 - Commonwealth v. Jones

2. “Although a habeas corpus hearing is similar to a preliminary hearing, in a habeas corpus proceeding the Commonwealth has the opportunity to present additional evidence to establish that the defendant has committed the elements of the offense charged. A prima facie case consists of evidence, read in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, that sufficiently establishes both the commission of a crime and that the accused is probably the perpetrator of that crime. The Commonwealth need not prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather the Commonwealth must show sufficient probable cause that the defendant committed the offense, and the evidence should be such that if presented at trial, and accepted as true, the judge would be warranted in allowing the case to go to the jury. Commonwealth v. Keller, 823 A.2d 1004, 1010-11 (Pa.Super.2003) (citations omitted). “In determining the presence or absence of a prima facie case, inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence of record that would support a verdict of guilty are to be given effect, but suspicion and conjecture are not evidence and are unacceptable as such.” Commonwealth v. Packard, 767 A.2d 1068, 1071 (Pa.Super.2001) (citation omitted).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2004 Pa. Super. 94 - Commonwealth v. Engle · 2007 Pa. Super. 187 - Commonwealth v. Hendricks

3. “The implied consent provision of 75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(a)(1) does not eliminate the need to obtain a warrant to seize medical records, but only to request and conduct chemical tests. The reason for this is obvious. Due to the evanescent nature of the evidence of blood alcohol content, there is an immediate need to obtain samples of blood for testing. When blood samples have been drawn for medical purposes and the results of blood alcohol content tests are part of a patient’s medical record, the evidence will not have dissipated during the time that application for a search warrant is being made. Thus, the release of the result of Appellant’s BAC test, taken for independent medical purposes and not pursuant to Section 3755(a), to [the officer] without a warrant and in the absence of exigent circumstances, violated Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Accordingly, the BAC test results should have been suppressed.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2003 Pa. Super. 380 - Commonwealth v. West