298 Pa. Super. 349 - Commonwealth v. Waren’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

5 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 5 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “‘It is unprofessional conduct for the prosecutor to express his personal belief or opinion as to the truth or falsity of any testimony or any evidence of guilt of the defendant.’ ABA Standards RElating to the Prosecution Function § 5.8(b) (Approved Draft 1971). However, ‘not every injudicious or improper comment by the prosecutor or the court is of such nature and quality that a new trial must be granted.’ Commonwealth v. Taliaferro, 273 Pa.Superior Ct. 151, 417 A.2d 213 (1979). Instead, as the Supreme Court has noted: Where an improper remark is made by the prosecutor, the ultimate test as to whether a reversal of the judgment of sentence is required must depend upon a finding of the reasonable impact of the statement on the jury’s factfinding function. Where the remarks are of such a nature that would seriously threaten the jury’s objectivity and is [sic] likely to deprive an accused of a fair trial, curative instructions are inadequate Commonwealth v. Brown, 489 Pa. 285, 298 , 414 A.2d 70, 76 (1980).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 364 Pa. Super. 498 - Commonwealth v. Graham