Commonwealth v. Davis’s Empirical Analysis
1978
Citation profile
58 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 58 later decisions — most recently February 2005 · most notably Commonwealth v. Colson (1985), Commonwealth v. Pursell (1999)
58 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
Relies on Faretta v. California · Commonwealth v. Robinson · Commonwealth v. Moody · Commonwealth ex rel. Robinson v. Myers · Commonwealth Ex Rel. Simon v. Maroney
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 58 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“In the circumstances of this case, we cannot conclude that the trial judge erred in permitting [appellant] to represent himself. The record demonstrates that the judge fully advised [appellant] both of his right to be represented by counsel and of the possible disadvantages of self representation; it also clearly shows that both [appellant’s] waiver of the right to counsel and his assertion of the right to self-representation were knowing and deliberate choices. Cf Commonwealth v. Robinson, 468 Pa. 575 , 364 A.2d 665 (1976). Furthermore, the public defender was made fully available to [appellant] for whatever consultation and aid [appellant] might request. Hence, in these circumstances, it would have been constitutional error for the judge to have refused [appellant] his right to represent himself Faretta v. California, [ 422 U.S. 806 , 95 S.Ct. 2525 , 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1976) ]. Id., 479 Pa. at 283 , 388 A.2d at 328 (emphasis added).”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority““In all criminal prosecutions the accused hath a right to be heard by himself and his counsel . .”
1 later decision 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.