2017 Pa. Super. 263 - Commonwealth v. Batty’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

3 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 3 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The Commonwealth has the burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If it meets that burden, then the defendant is no longer presumed innocent and you should find him guilty. On the other hand, if the Commonwealth does not meet its burden, then you must find the defendant not guilty. Do not draw any inference because of repetition. Do not single out any individual rule or instruction and ignore the others .... Consider all of the instructions as a whole and each in light of the others. * * * The next element involves a term that has a particular meaning under the corrupt organizations law. The term is enterprise. In this case, the Commonwealth has charged that Michael Hill's organization is an enterprise. You must ask whether the entity that the Commonwealth has charged is an enterprise and that it fits the definition of enterprise under the law. This term can mean a variety of things, some of which are very easy to understand. Under the law, an enterprise can mean an individual; an enterprise can be engaged in legitimate or illegitimate activities. The defendant does not need to know everyone who is proven to be a part of the enterprise. Finally, the enterprise must be engaged in some sort of commerce, that is, must be engaged in buying or selling some products or services, legal or otherwise. Unless you find beyond a reasonable doubt that Michael Hill's organization is an enterprise, you must find the defendant not guilty of the corrupt organizations ”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Hill