387 Pa. Super. 47 - Commonwealth v. Voshall’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

20 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 20 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[In evaluating merger claims] a trial court need not tax itself with the burden of determining what Commonwealth interests are at stake by attempting to sort out the number of offenses actually committed against the Commonwealth or by endeavoring to compartmentalize each harm actually present in a given criminal act. Instead, a sentencer need only determine if any of the crimes necessarily involve each other, i.e., whether any are lesser included offenses of the other charge(s). Therefore, it should be obvious to anyone reading the ... provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code that the elements of the offense of driving under the influence are intrinsic to the statute regulating the conduct of one who commits the crime of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. The language of this latter provision makes it abundantly clear that it applies to those who have violated and have been convicted of Section 3731 [relating to driving under the influence]. The violation and conviction of Section 3731 is an element of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. Necessarily and logically, then, the elements of Section 3731 are implicitly included in Section 3735, making the former a lesser included offense of the latter____ The act of driving under the influence is the only basis upon which [defendant] could have [been convicted of] the crime of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence. He did not commit any other criminal act beyond that which was nece”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 397 Pa. Super. 439 - Commonwealth v. Welshans

2. “if a person commits one act of criminal violence, and that act is the only basis upon which he may be convicted of another crime, the act will merge into the other crime. If however, the actor commits multiple criminal acts beyond that which is necessary to establish the bare elements of the additional crime, then the actor will be guilty of multiple crimes which do not merge for sentencing purposes.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 429 Pa. Super. 146 - Commonwealth v. Huckleberry

3. “75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3735 states, in relevant part, that: (a) Offense defined. — Any person who unintentionally causes the death of another person as the direct result of a violation of section 3731 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) and who is convicted of violating section 3731 is guilty of a felony of the third degree when the violation is the cause of death____”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 397 Pa. Super. 439 - Commonwealth v. Welshans