367 Pa. Super. 154 - Commonwealth v. Humpheys’s Empirical Analysis
1987
Citation profile
10
cited by 10 later decisions
1
states following
August 1996
most recently cited
10 state decisions
Relationships
Relies on Commonwealth v. Tuladziecki · Commonwealth v. Pettus · Commonwealth v. Gravely · Commonwealth v. Buehl · Commonwealth v. Peterkin
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 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“Duress is a defense to a criminal charge. A defendant acts under duress when he is coerced into doing an act which would otherwise be criminal by the threat to use unlawful force against him which a person or reasonable firmness in his situation would have been unable to resist. You will note that it is not enough that the force threatened actually coerced the defendant into doing the act. The force threatened must be such that a person of reasonable firmness in the same situation as a defendant would have been unable to resist it. In determining whether a person of reasonable firmness in the defendant’s situation would have been unable to resist, you should consider the seriousness of the crime which the defendant was asked to commit, the nature and severity of the force threatened, any alternative way in which the defendant might have escaped or averted that force, the age, physical condition and strength of the defendant, and all other factors which might bear on the reaction of a person of reasonable firmness in the same situation. Even though a defendant acts under duress, he cannot claim the defense if he recklessly placed himself in a situation in which it was probable that he would be subjected to duress. The Commonwealth has the burden of disproving the defense of duress. Thus, you cannot find the defendant guilty of the crime of robbery unless you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act under duress or that he recklessly placed himself”
1 later decision quote this exact passage““[1] the names and whereabouts of these witnesses, [2] the substance of their testimony and [3] how they would have appreciably strengthened his defense. Moreover, ... [appellant must show] [4] that his trial counsel knew of the existence of the witnesses who purportedly should have been called.” Commonwealth v. Clemmons, 505 Pa. 356, 365 , 479 A.2d 955, 959 (1984).”
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.