307 Pa. Super. 113 - Commonwealth v. Cugnini’s Empirical Analysis
1982
Citation profile
12 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Commonwealth v. Miller · 244 Pa. Super. 33 - Commonwealth v. Rick · 234 Pa. Super. 146 - Commonwealth v. Miller · Commonwealth v. Bolden · 262 Pa. Super. 258 - Commonwealth v. Smith
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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“While the Commonwealth bears the burden of demonstrating some reasonable connection between the proffered exhibits and the true evidence, Commonwealth v. Pedano, 266 Pa.Super. 461, 467 , 405 A.2d 525, 528 (1979), it need not establish the sanctity of its exhibits beyond a moral certainty. E.g., Commonwealth v. Miller, 234 Pa.Super. 146, 155 , 339 A.2d 573, 578 (1975), aff'd, 469 Pa. 24 , 364 A.2d 886 (1976). The Commonwealth need not produce every individual who came into contact with an item of evidence, nor must it eliminate every hypothetical possibility of tampering. Commonwealth v. Rick, 244 Pa.Super. 33, 38 , 366 A.2d 302, 304 (1976). A complete chain of custody is not required so long as the Commonwealth’s evidence, direct and circumstantial, establishes a reasonable inference that the identity and condition of the exhibits have remained the same from the time they were first received until the time of trial. Commonwealth v. Oates, 269 Pa.Super. 157, 163 , 409 A.2d 112, 115 (1979); Commonwealth v. Miller, supra. Any gaps in testimony regarding the chain of custody go to the weight to be given the testimony, not to its admissibility. Commonwealth v. Bolden, 486 Pa. 383, 388-89 , 406 A.2d 333, 335-36 (1979).”
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.