419 Pa. Super. 364 - Commonwealth v. Iseley’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 30 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 32 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “the further delay inherent in allowing any second or subsequent guilty plea to be withdrawn on such dubious grounds is a burden too great for our already overcrowded criminal dockets to bear. Even more importantly, given that the accuracy of any subsequent trial (should the prosecution ever reach that stage) is dependent upon the ever fading memories and increasingly uncertain availibilities of the necessary witnesses, the power to prolong the prosecution could serve as a Sword of Damocles for the guilty defendant to suspend over the very heart of the trial, the search for truth. This power, we refuse to confer.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the concurrence
   e.g. 2011 Pa. Super. 162 - Commonwealth v. Walker

2. “There is no absolute right to withdraw a guilty plea. Commonwealth v. Hayes, 462 Pa. 291 , 341 A.2d 85 (1975). Courts have the discretion to permit or direct a guilty plea to be withdrawn at any time before sentencing. Commonwealth v. Coles, 365 Pa.Super. 562 , 530 A.2d 453 (1987); Pa.R.Crim.P. 320. When a defendant moves to withdraw his plea prior to sentence, he need only show a “fair and just” reason for the withdrawal and a lack of substantial prejudice to the Commonwealth. Commonwealth v. Anthony, 504 Pa. 551 , 475 A.2d 1303 (1984); see also Commonwealth v. Jackson, 390 Pa.Super. 639 [569] A.2d 964 (1990).”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 442 Pa. Super. 139 - Commonwealth v. Kasecky