436 Pa. Super. 442 - Commonwealth v. Moyer’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 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 12 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A review of the record reveals that there was no evidence that appellant [Moyer] could have avoided this tragic accident. The Commonwealth presents no support for its conclusion that appellant could have swerved to avoid striking the victim. Specifically, the Commonwealth eyewitness testimony established that appellant and the victim was traveling between twenty-five and thirty miles per hour. Simple calculations indicate that at 30 miles per hour, a vehicle travels at the rate of forty-four feet-per-second, while traveling at 25 miles per hour, a vehicle travels at thirty-six feet-per-second. Eyewitness testimony also established that the victim was located ten to forty feet to the right of appellant's motorboat when [bystander] struck [victim] with the stick. In other words, in less than a second, two objects traveling about forty feet-per-second crossed paths. The Commonwealth presented no testimony on reaction time, either eyewitness or expert, to support its claim that any person could have swerved their boat, given the time frame that it established. Yet, the Commonwealth's case on causation consists solely of its position that defendant caused the death by failing to swerve his boat. The evidence it presented, however, is inadequate to demonstrate that this inaction caused the victim's death due to the fact that there is serious doubt as to whether any reasonable person could have avoided the unfortunate collision. Moyer at 648 A.2d 46 -47.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Commonwealth v. A.D.B. · Com. v. ADB

2. “(3) A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and intent of the actor’s conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation. (4) A person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the actor’s failure to perceive it, considering the nature and intent of his conduct and the circumstances known to him, involves a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2000 Pa. Super. 366 - Commonwealth v. Chapman

3. “In order to sustain a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the Commonwealth must show that the appellant’s conduct was directly and substantially linked to the victim’s death. Commonwealth v. Long, [ 425 Pa.Super. 170 ] 624 A.2d 200 (Pa.Super.1993). We have determined that in order to sustain a conviction for involuntary manslaughter, a defendant’s conduct must be the antecedent but-for which the result in question would not have occurred. Id. Specifically, it would be unfair to hold an individual responsible for the death of another if his actions are remote or attenuated and the victim’s death was attributable to other factors. Id.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 2000 Pa. Super. 366 - Commonwealth v. Chapman