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2012 Pa. Super. 191

54 A.3d 76

Commonwealth v. Lyles

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Decided September 10, 2012

Superior Court of Pennsylvania · decided 2012-09-10

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently November 2021

6 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2012-09-10

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1CONCURRING OPINION BY

STRASSBURGER, J.:

¶2I join Judge Bender’s well-reasoned opinion.

¶3I write separately to point out that the case law has developed into an Alice in Wonderland scenario, as judges attempt to determine if an individual is or is not free to leave.

¶4When a police officer initiates an encounter, an individual as a practical matter never feels free to leave. The police officer has a weapon. The police officer’s testimony is almost always believed in court. No responsible person would walk away from an encounter with a police officer.

¶5Lawyers, judges and law professors can debate the niceties as to whether an individual is legally free to leave, but the case law does not comport with reality.

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