335 Pa. Super. 306 - Commonwealth v. Schultz’s Empirical Analysis
1984
Citation profile
15 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently August 2018
15 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 Commonwealth Ex Rel. Washington v. Maroney · Commonwealth v. Scott · Commonwealth v. Sampson · Commonwealth v. Shapiro · 160 Pa. Super. 269 - Commonwealth v. Padden
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 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Evidence of good character is substanti[ve] and positive evidence, not a mere make [weight] to be considered in a doubtful case, and according to all our authorit[ies], is an independent factor which may of itself engender a reasonable doubt or produce a conclusion of innocence. To be sure, it is to and is not to be measured by, or appraised according to, the might or the [infirmity] in the Commonwealth's case. Even though, under all the [other] evidence a jury could reach a conclusion of guilt, still if the character evidence creates a reasonable doubt or establishes innocence a verdict of acquittal must be rendered. 160 Pa.Super. at 275 , 50 A.2d at 725 (citations omitted; emphasis in original). As is evidence[d] from the above, character evidence is extremely important evidence and is not to be taken lightly. Indeed, our courts have buttressed the importance of this evidence further by requiring that a jury be instructed [that] such evidence, in and of itself, may be sufficient to justify an acquittal. Commonwealth v. Arenella, 306 Pa.Super. 119 , 452 A.2d 243 (1982); see also Commonwealth v. Scott, 496 Pa. 188 , 436 A.2d 607 (1981); Commonwealth v. Cleary, 148 Pa. 26 , 23 A. 1110 (1882); Commonwealth v. Shapiro 223 Pa.Super. 15 , 297 A.2d 161 (1972).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage“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 a reasonable doubt or produce a conclusion of innocence. To be sure, it is to be con sidered with all the other evidence in the case. But it is not to be measured with all the other evidence. Its probative value, its power of persuasion, does not depend upon, and is not to be measured by, or appraised according to, the might or the infirmity in the Commonwealth’s case. Even though, under all the other evidence a jury could reach a conclusion of guilt, still if the character evidence creates a reasonable doubt or establishes innocence a verdict of acquittal must be rendered.”
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.