258 Pa. Super. 332 - Commonwealth v. Thomas’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

11 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. ““Any other interpretation of the Supreme Court’s requirement of an ‘interested adult’ would make no sense, for it would read the Court as saying that its requirement could be satisfied in either of two, mutually inconsistent, ways: either by affording the juvenile access to one of two persons vitally interested in his welfare — an attorney or parent — or by affording him access to a person only casually interested.””

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Thomas · 314 Pa. Super. 279 - Commonwealth v. Romeri

2. “[W]e note the dissent of Judge Spaeth in Thomas. However, we are satisfied that the reasons for his dissent in Thomas are not present in the case. In Thomas, Judge Spaeth disagreed with the majority’s conclusion that a prison counsellor was an ‘interested adult' for the purpose of an effective juvenile Miranda waiver. In the case at bar the defendant’s mother, unquestionably an ‘interested adult’ was present and there is no question that the Miranda rights were fully explained to her and the defendant. Judge Spaeth also concluded that the police made no reasonable effort to afford the appellant access to an ‘interested adult.’ Again the facts in our case are contrary to that conclusion, because the police, at the defendant’s request, brought in Probation Officer Zydel, who the defendant regarded as an interested adult, and Ms. Zydel once again informed the defendant and his mother of the Miranda rights. Finally, Judge Spaeth in his Thomas dissent concluded the police impermissibly interfered with such access to an ‘interested adult’ as was provided by remaining in the room while the juvenile conferred with an adult. However, in the present case it is undisputed that the juvenile, his mother and the Probation Officer had the fullest privacy.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the dissent
   e.g. 314 Pa. Super. 279 - Commonwealth v. Romeri