317 Pa. Super. 41 - Commonwealth v. Luther’s Empirical Analysis
1983
Citation profile
65 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 68 later decisions — most recently October 2025 · most notably Matter of Sylvester (1989), 407 Pa. Super. 343 - Commonwealth v. Boyles (1991)
65 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 Michelson v. United States · Commonwealth v. Twiggs · Commonwealth v. Colandro · Commonwealth v. Amos · Commonwealth v. Boone
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 68 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[E]vidence of good character is to be regarded as evidence of substantive fact just as any other evidence tending to establish innocence and may be considered by the jury in connection with all of the evidence presented in the case on the general issue of guilt or innocence. "Evidence of good character is substantive and positive evidence, not a mere make weight to be considered in a doubtful case, and, ... is an independent factor which may of itself engender reasonable doubt or produce a conclusion of innocence."”
8 later decisions quote this exact passage““In a case ... where intent and credibility are decisive factors leading together acquittal or conviction, the accused’s reputation is of paramount importance. Indeed, evidence of good character may, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, raise a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.” Commonwealth v. Shapiro, 223 Pa.Super. 15, 19-20 , 297 A.2d 161, 163 (1972).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[i]n a case where virtually the only issue is the credibility of the witness for the Commonwealth versus that of the defendant, failure to explore all available alternatives to assure that the jury heard the testimony of a known witness who might be capable of casting doubt upon the truthfulness of the Commonwealth witness is ineffective assistance of counsel.”
2 later decisions 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.