360 Pa. Super. 466 - Commonwealth v. Anderson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

22 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 22 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “In Commonwealth v. Woodson, [ 342 Pa.Super. 392 , 493 A.2d 78 (1985) ], we held that the defendant’s proximity to the scene of the crime, the correspondence of his appearance to the victim’s detailed description of the intruder, his attempt to evade the police, and his unsubstantiated explanation for his presence in the alley behind the victim’s house, taken together provided the police officer with probable cause to arrest. Id. at 396 , 493 A.2d at 80 . In Commonwealth v. Williams, 317 Pa.Superior Ct. 456, 465, 464 A.2d 411, 415 (1983), we held that the defendant’s matching of the description given by the victim, his proximity to the scene of the crime both in time and place and his attempt to flee all provided the police with probable cause to arrest. See also Commonwealth v. Derrick, 322 Pa.Superior Ct. 517, 532, 469 A.2d 1111, 1119 (1983) (flight in and of itself is not sufficient to establish probable cause, but flight coupled with some other fact may be sufficient); Commonwealth v. Bridgeman, 310 Pa.Superior Ct. 441, 447, 456 A.2d 1017, 1020 (1983) (officer’s observance of goods in defendant’s car matching description of stolen goods, defendant’s failure to produce owner’s card for the car or a reasonable explanation for its absence constituted probable cause for arrest); Commonwealth v. Ryan, 253 Pa.Superior Ct. 92, 100, 384 A.2d 1243, 1246 (1978) (the defendant’s proximity to the scene of the crime both in time and place, and his fast paced walking away were insuffici”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 421 Pa. Super. 141 - In the Interest of A.P.

2. “Here, appellant matched the general description provided by the complainant. He did stand over 5'9" tall and wore a blue sweatshirt with a zipper up the front and red stripes down the sleeves. N.T. August 3, 1983 at 32. He was observed standing on a street corner two blocks away from the scene of the crime over two hours after it had occurred. Id. at 33. There is, however, no evidence that appellant was acting suspiciously or that he tried to flee or evade the police. Unlike those cases cited above where we have found facts sufficient to establish probable cause, the only basis for such a determination in this case was appellant’s similarity to the general description provided by the victim. We hold that this similarity, taken by itself, was not enough to provide the police with sufficient facts establishing probable cause to arrest.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 421 Pa. Super. 141 - In the Interest of A.P.

3. “To be constitutionally valid, a warrantless arrest must be supported by probable cause. Commonwealth v. Voss, 333 Pa.Superior Ct. 331, 339, 482 A.2d 593, 598 (1984). Probable cause for arrest exists when the facts at the time of arrest would warrant a prudent person in believing that a criminal offense had been committed, and that the suspect was the perpetrator of the offense. Commonwealth v. Woodson, 342 Pa.Superior Ct. 392, 395, 493 A.2d 78, 79 (1985).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 394 Pa. Super. 403 - Commonwealth v. Lewis