2015 Pa. Super. 237 - Commonwealth v. Spenny’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

9 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 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “various complexities attend the administration of an enhancement scheme accounting for specific factual elements, including: provision for the determination of particular facts in a system employing general verdicts; and the involvement of constitutional issues connected with sentencing enhancements, such as those arising under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 , 120 S.Ct. 2348 , 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). In the face of such complexities, and consistent with the application, of judicial restraint in defining the scope of criminal liability, I continue to support the notion that “equivalent crimes” are to be evaluated at an elemental level, absent more specific direction from the Legislature. Accord Commonwealth v. Shaw, 560 Pa. 296 , 744 A.2d 739 (2000). To the degree the General Assembly wishes to effectuate a change, there are various models available, which may be studied in devising a clear and coherent statutory framework that is consistent with governing law.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2017 Pa. Super. 54 - Commonwealth v. Vandyke

2. “[W]hen ' determining the Pennsylvania equivalent statute for a prior, out-of-state conviction for prior record score purposes, courts must identify the elements of the foreign conviction and on that basis alone, identify the Pennsylvania statute that “is substantially identical in nature and definition” to the out-of-state offense. Bolden, 532 A.2d at 1176 . Courts are not tasked with ascertaining the statute under which the defendant would have been convicted if he or she had committed the out-of-state crime in Pennsylvania. Rather, we must compare “the elements of the foreign offense in terms of classification of the conduct proscribed, its definition of the offense, and the requirements for culpability” to determine the Pennsylvania equivalent offense. Northrip, 985 A.2d at 740 (quoting Shaw, 744 A.2d at 743 ).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 2017 Pa. Super. 54 - Commonwealth v. Vandyke

3. “Subsequent to the Northrip decision, the Legislature did act, but in the opposite manner Justice Saylor predicted. Instead of amending section 9714 to require courts to review the facts underlying a prior, out-of-state conviction to determine its Pennsylvania equivalent, the Legislature removed from section 9714 the factual determination required for a burglary conviction, replacing it with a specific subsection of the burglary statute. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9714(g) (as amended July 5, 2012, effective Sept. 4, 2012).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 2017 Pa. Super. 54 - Commonwealth v. Vandyke