Commonwealth v. Smith’s Empirical Analysis
1977
Citation profile
122 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 123 later decisions — most recently April 1998 · most notably Commonwealth v. Hughes (1989), 359 So. 2d 586 - State in Interest of Dino (1978)
122 state decisions — followed in 12 states
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
Relies on Miranda v. State of Arizona Vignera · Gallegos v. State of Colorado · Cook v. United States · Commonwealth v. Goodwin · Commonwealth v. McCutchen
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 123 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“". . . to offset the disadvantage occasioned by his youth. The . . . rule appreciates that the inexperience of the minor affects not only his or her ability to understand the full implication and consequences of the predicament but also renders the judgment inadequate to assess the spectrum of considerations encompassed in the waiver decision." Commonwealth v. Smith, 472 Pa. 492, 498 , 372 A.2d 797, 800 (1977) (footnote omitted).”
7 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Under our formulation, failure by the Commonwealth to establish either the adult was one interested in the welfare of the juvenile accused, that the adult was aware of the rights of the accused, or that the minor had an opportunity to consult, would justify the conclusion that the purported waiver was ineffective.””
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“... [D]ue process requires that a waiver by a youthful offendér is effectuated only when it has been shown that a minor comprehended the full significance of .the panoply of rights that protects him during custodial interrogation. Id. at 799.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
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.