413 Pa. Super. 521 - Commonwealth v. Kemble’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

14 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 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Therefore, any evidence that is relevant to prove impairment is admissible in a § 3731(a)(1) prosecution. However, a § 3731(a)(4) charge, when unaccompanied by a § 3731(a)(1) charge, involves a narrowly focused inquiry that is solely concerned with a determination of whether a defendant had a .10% or greater blood alcohol level at the time that she drove her automobile. During such an inquiry impairment evidence is not relevant since it does not logically or reasonably tend to prove or disprove that a defendant's blood alcohol level was .10% or greater at the time that she drove her automobile, it does not tend to make such a fact more or less probable and it does not afford a basis for or support a reasonable inference or presumption regarding whether a defendant's blood alcohol level was.10% or greater. As mentioned, supra, the admission of the impairment evidence could have been particularly prejudicial to appellant since the validity of the results of her intoxilyzer test were disputed at trial. Since the impairment evidence was not relevant the trial court abused its discretion in admitting said evidence. Hence, we remand this case for a new trial.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. Loeper

2. “Questions of the admission and exclusion of evidence are within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. The basic requisite for the admissibility of any evidence in a case is that it be competent and relevant. Though ‘relevance’ has not been precisely or universally defined, the courts of this Commonwealth have repeatedly stated that evidence is admissible if, and only if, the evidence logically or reasonably tends to prove or disprove a material fact in issue, tends to make such a fact more or less probable, or affords the basis for or supports a reasonable inference or presumption regarding the existence of a material fact.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2003 Pa. Super. 379 - Commonwealth v. Freidl

3. “[i]f an (a)(4) charge was, as in the instant case, unaccompanied by an (a)(1) charge, then the only relevant evidence that would prove the fact that a defendant violated § 3731(a)(4) would relate to the existence of an intoxilyzer test, the results of the test, the reliability of the intoxilyzer machine, the qualifications of the person who administered the test, the procedures utilized in conduct ing the test and the methods employed in arriving at the test results.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2003 Pa. Super. 379 - Commonwealth v. Freidl