Commonwealth v. Sheehan’s Empirical Analysis
1971
Citation profile
97 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 97 later decisions — most recently June 2017 · most notably Skok v. State (2000), Commonwealth v. Mangini (1978)
97 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 18 U.S.C. § 1 · 18 U.S.C. § 3006A (Criminal Justice Act)
Relies on Gideon v. Wainwright · Sibron v. State of New York Peters · United State v. Morgan · Carafas v. J · Baldwin v. New York
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 97 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[t]he intent of the [Post Conviction Hearing] Act ... was not to abolish the common law remedies of habeas corpus or coram nobis, but rather to promulgate an exclusive, well-defined procedure for the presentation of those grievances set forth in the Act by an aggrieved person who is under the duress of punishment, whether in prison or on parole or probation. All claims previously cognizable on a common law writ, in circumstances not covered by the terms of the Act, may still be litigated by means of the common law writ.”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage““ . . .a post-conviction proceeding for providing relief from convictions obtained and sentences imposed without due process of law. The procedure hereby established shall encompass all common law and statutory procedures for the same purpose that exist when the statute takes effect, including habeas corpus and coram nobis.” Act of January 25, 1966, P.L. (1965) 1580, § 2 (19 P.S. § 1180-2).”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage“[A]fter noting that courts should act by whatever procedural channels appear necessary to do justice when the record makes plain a right to relief, the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Morgan, 346 U.S. 502, 505 , [ 74 S.Ct. 247, 249 ], 98 L.Ed. 248 , 253 (1954)[,] held that, on an allegation of the denial of right to counsel, coram nobis would lie to challenge a conviction, the sentence of which had been fully satisfied. The Court laid particular emphasis on a quotation from 2 Tidd’s Practice (4th Am.Ed.) 1136, 1137, which stated that coram nobis is available to cure errors of fact or process. See [Judge Hoffman’s dissenting opinion in Commonwealth v. Sheehan, 216 Pa.Super. 26 , 260 A.2d 496 (1969),] and cases cited therein. Likewise, the Court in Morgan noted that coram nobis as applied in American jurisdictions had not been confined strictly to matters of fact.”
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.