336 Pa. Super. 636 - Commonwealth v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

47 state decisions

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 47 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Appellant’s appeal is rendered moot by the intervening change in the facts of his case, i.e., his release from the custody and control of the Lebanon County Prison in January of 1984. Thus, appellant no longer suffers from any alleged unconstitutional inadequacy of the Lebanon County Prison law library. Appellant no longer has any stake in the outcome of his case. Furthermore, no exception to the mootness doctrine applies herein.... [Thus], [s]ince appellant seeks relief through a habeas corpus proceeding on the basis of an inadequate law library for a prisoner of the Lebanon County Prison, and since appellant no longer suffers from this alleged unconstitutional condition, we find that the matter before this Court is moot, and we dismiss the appeal....”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 453 Pa. Super. 124 - Commonwealth v. Ahlborn

2. “The cases presenting mootness problems involve litigants who clearly had standing to sue at the outset of the litigation. The problems arise from events occurring after the lawsuit has gotten under way — changes in the facts or in the law — which allegedly deprive the litigant of the necessary stake in the outcome. The mootness doctrine requires that ‘an actual controversy must be extant at all stages of review, not merely at the time the complaint is filed.’ G. Gunther, Constitutional Law 1578 (9th ed. 1975).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Strax v. Commonwealth