303 Pa. Super. 177 - Commonwealth v. Tolassi’s Empirical Analysis
1982
Citation profile
19
cited by 19 later decisions
1
states following
July 1988
most recently cited
19 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Commonwealth v. Clair · Commonwealth v. Riggins · Commonwealth v. Martin · Commonwealth v. Walker · Commonwealth v. Kostka
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 19 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“The requirements that the lower court must state of record its reasons for not ordering a pre-sentence report, Pa.R.Crim.P. 1403(A)(2); that sentences must not be uniform but individualized, Commonwealth v. Martin, [ 466 Pa. 118 , 351 A.2d 650 (1976)]; Commonwealth v. Riggins, supra ; and that the lower court must state of record its reasons for the sentence, Commonwealth v. Riggins, supra ; Pa.R.Crim.P. 1405(b), are all requirements intended to improve the quality of sentencing and to aid appellate review. They do not implicate the power of the court to impose sentence, and the failure to comply with them does not render a sentence "illegal" within the principle that the illegality of a sentence is not subject to waiver, any more that a judge's failure to make a correct evidentiary ruling makes the resulting verdict "illegal." Thus we have repeatedly held that the claim that a sentence should be vacated because of the lower court's failure to state of record its reasons for the sentence will be waived if not made in a motion to modify sentence, filed pursuant to Pa.R.Crim.P. 1410.... Any other result would be inconsistent with the principle of Commonwealth v. Clair, [ 458 Pa. 418 , 326 A.2d 272 (1974)], that even claims of "fundamental error" may be waived.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority“will go to the power of the court to impose sentence.”
1 later decision quote this exact passage
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.