304 Pa. Super. 297 - Commonwealth v. Malloy’s Empirical Analysis
1982
Citation profile
62 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 64 later decisions — most recently August 2017 · most notably Commonwealth v. Spotz (1998), 2005 Pa. Super. 211 - In Re Private Criminal Complaint of Wilson (2005)
62 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · Kirchberg v. Feenstra · Commonwealth v. Walker · Commonwealth v. Hayes · Commonwealth v. Pfaff
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 64 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“A district attorney is permitted to exercise discretion to refrain from proceeding in a criminal case whenever he, in good faith, thinks that the prosecution would not serve the best interests of the state. This discretion not to prosecute may be implemented by the district attorney’s refusal to approve the private criminal complaint at the outset.”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage“Rule 506. Approval of Private Complaints (A) When the affiant is not a law enforcement officer, the complaint shall be submitted to an attorney for the Commonwealth, who shall approve or disapprove it without unreasonable delay. (B) If the attorney for the Commonwealth: (1) approves the complaint, the attorney shall indicate this decision on the complaint form and transmit it to the issuing authority; (2) disapproves the complaint, the attorney shall state the reasons on the complaint form and return it to the affi-ant. Thereafter, the affiant may petition the court of common pleas for review of the decision.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage““It is a well-settled principle of law that a crime is an offense against the sovereignty, a wrong which the government deems injurious not only to the victim but to the public at large, and which it punishes through a judicial proceeding in the Commonwealth’s name.... Though the same wrongful act may constitute both a crime and a tort, the tort is a private injury which is to be pursued by the injured party.... Criminal prosecutions are not to settle private grievances but are to rectify the injury done to the Commonwealth. The individual who is the victim of a crime only has recourse in a civil action for damages.” Id. at 301 , 450 A.2d at 691 . (citations and footnote omitted)”
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.